New Year's Day

Chapter 2

August 12th, 2014

"Hey, Alex," said Steve, running into the living room where I was sitting on the couch reading a book and doubling over, clutching his chest. "Could you come with me?" he breathed urgently, "please?"

    I looked at him with concern, closing my book and standing up to follow him. He was walking in fast, long strides, and I had to jog to keep up with him.

    "Steve, where the hell are we going that we need to walk this fast?" I demanded.

    He stopped, turning around to look at me.

    "Bucky's here."

    "What?" I stuttered.

    "They finished his evaluations," he managed, exasperated. "Fury told me he wouldn't be coming to the Compound for another few months, but I guess they did something right because they said he's ready to move in."

    "Steve, that's... great. I'm really happy for you, I know you were anxious to get him here." I put my hand on his arm and squeezed a little, attempting to comfort him as best as I could.

    "Thanks, Alex," he blushed. "I just wanted to introduce you two as soon as possible so he feels like he has someone to talk to other than me." He paused. "And, I don't want to get ahead of myself," he said, taking a deep breath, "but there's a good chance you two will be partners on missions if that's alright with you."

    "Oh... wow," I said, unsure. I didn't have a  solid partner yet, Steve mostly had me switch between Sam and himself, but this was serious. I knew Steve wouldn't pair me with Bucky unless he trusted me, and I didn't want to let him down. "Steve, I would be honored," I agreed, putting on a smile in an attempt to pass the illusion of certainty, "let's go meet him."

    We continued walking out to the patio and towards the front of the compound, where a black SUV had pulled into the large circular driveway and was waiting for us.

    As we approached, a SWORD agent stepped out of the car from the passenger side and opened the back door. Bucky stepped out, squinting and shielding his eyes from the bright afternoon sun. I'd seen pictures of him from the 1940s, even briefly fought him the year before when I was on the run from Hydra with Steve, Nat, and Sam, but this was different. This felt eerily casual, which made it all the more stressful.

To say Bucky was tall is an understatement. I was tall, but Bucky was huge, and his strong physique only added to the intimidation. Not to mention how handsome he was. "Hot" didn't quite feel like the right word to describe a 100-year-old man.

"Hey, pal," Bucky grinned, patting Steve on the shoulder. "Long time no see."

    "Hey, Buck," Steve replied, pulling him into a hug. "This is Alex, I'm sure you remember her."

    Bucky grimaced and extended his hand. "Sorry about that," he said, not meeting my eye.

    "No hard feelings," I smiled and shook his hand. "I wouldn't be talking to you right now if there were."

    I meant it. When SHIELD fell, it was personal. I hadn't known a real family since my mom passed away, and I thought I'd found it until we discovered that most of the people in SHIELD were really Hydra. I knew Bucky carried that heavy toll just as much as I did, probably more.

    "There aren't many people at the compound right now, so I wanted to introduce you two so you could have someone else to talk to until the rest of the team gets back," said Steve.

    "Where is everyone else?" Bucky asked.

    "Missions, mostly," I cut in. Bucky turned to me and smiled again. Charming. "Nat and Clint are in Italy right now chasing down some ex-Hydra affiliates, Sam is working with SWORD in D.C., Tony and Bruce are in New York City, and Thor is still on Asgard."

    "And Asgard is..." Bucky hesitated.

    "Don't worry," I laughed, "I'll show you where your room is and catch you up to speed."

    "Whatever you say, doll," Bucky beamed.

    Doll? He really must be from the 40s.

I spent the rest of the afternoon showing Bucky around the compound and telling him about all the Avengers. I told him about New York, Asgard, and how the rest of the team became a part of the Avengers Initiative.

    "Okay," Bucky finally said while we were sitting in the kitchen taking a break after what felt like hours of touring. "You've told me a lot about the rest of the team, which I appreciate, but you haven't told me much about you," he pointed at me.

    I looked in his eyes as he said that, and I could sense the mischief behind them. The question was innocent enough, I could tell he just wanted to get to know me, but I couldn't shake the feeling that he was trying to turn this into more than that.

    "Well," I began, "I'm originally from California. When I was 8 I moved back to my mom's hometown in Pennsylvania. Fury recruited me in 2012 as part of the initiative."

    "Well? Tell me more! That can't be everything," he probed. "Why did you move?"

    I sighed. "My dad was a scientist. One day when I was 8  he was supposed to take me to the mall, but he needed to stop by his office first. While we were there he got a phone call, and I got bored, so I left his office to wander around."

    Bucky was listening intently.

    "I accidentally wandered into his lab and found a back room with a steel door that was unlocked. I saw this weird glowing object in the middle of it," I braced myself and took a sip of my water. Why was telling this story giving me so much anxiety? I continued, "I got closer to it, and the last thing I remember is being blasted backward by this bright blue light. I woke up in the hospital two days later and my parents were a wreck. They knew we couldn't stay after the accident, but we didn't really have anywhere to go. Going back to my mom's hometown just made sense."

    "Wait, so... what happened after? What happened to you?" he questioned again. I could tell he was very invested in this story.

    "Well," I said. "It's easier to show than to explain."

    I stood up from my chair and took a few steps back. I concentrated and raised my hand up in front of me with my palm facing the ceiling. Slowly I clenched my fist, and as I flattened my hand out again, a bright blue orb of energy appeared over it. I tossed it up and caught it in my other hand like a ball.

    I looked back at Bucky to find him sitting slack-jawed with a look of pure disbelief spread across his face.

    "Holy shit..." he muttered.

    I laughed and tossed it again. Then, I let it die, instead focusing on Bucky. I let my hands fall to my side and imagined myself pulling strings. Bucky yelped and half-stood, half-fell from his chair.

    "What was that!" he demanded.

    I covered my mouth with my hand and shook with a failed attempt at hiding my laughter.   

"Here, look," I giggled, grabbing my phone and opening my camera to show him, still focused on the magic I was doing. I turned it toward him and he slowly started to smile.

    "You're incredible," he chuckled as he took in the image of all his hair floating toward the ceiling.

    I blushed and laughed again.

    "Come on, there's one more thing I want to show you."