The Winter Soldier and the Blue Phoenix (complete)

The Winter Soldier and the Blue Phoenix (Finale)

Authors note: I've been lacking motivation lately, and I've been feeling like shit, so I'm sorry if this took a while to come out. Also, this is the longest chapter in this story and it's the last of the first book. There's another book to come :)

You walk away and to the jet.

"Why're you so bitter?" Bucky asks.

"Nothing. I'm just-" You hesitate, "Tired."

"You suck at lying," Bucky smirks.

"You teased me about my worst fear. I was five when my family and I were on a boat, we were fishing, and my dad sees something big in the water. My dad guns the boat as fast as he could to shore, but I fell out of it. Suddenly that big thing nudged my back. It swam into my vision. It was a creature, with black, soulless eyes. It swam at me with its sharp, sharklike teeth were the last thing I saw before everything went black and I remember waking up on the beach with my family hovering over me. They told me I fell in and the impact knocked me out, but I know what I saw." You explain.

"I'm so sorry, I wouldn't have said it if I knew," Bucky tells you.

"Can we just, just focus on the mission?"

"Yeah. Right, sorry." 

Bucky walks closer to you, "I didn't mean to offend you. I swear." He breathes.

He stops mere inches in front of you. He looks down at you, his eyes, a beautiful slate blue, staring upon you. You look up at him, as his face slowly gets closer to yours. You stop him by putting your finger up to his face and push his face away.

"Not right now Barnes." You tell him.

He frowns.

"We have a mission we need to get done." You tell him.

"Fine," Bucky says, "Let's get this mission over with."

You walk up to the cockpit.

"No, you are not flying this thing." Bucky objects.

"Yes, I am." You say.

"No, if you're anything like Steve flying one of these things, we're gonna die." Bucky pushes past you.

You put your hand on his chest, stopping him from getting to the cockpit.

"Don't worry. I'm not Steve bad at flying one of these." You tell him.

You sit down at the pilot's seat. You fly the jet until you get tired, so you activate autopilot. You get out of the cockpit and see Bucky asleep on the benches along the side of the jet. You look at him and smile. You sit down across from him and tilt your head backward, eventually falling asleep yourself.

~~~

You wake up to Jarvis saying you've arrived. You get off the bench and kick Bucky's arm, hard enough to wake him up, but soft enough it won't hurt.

"Wake up, dick." You smirk.

Bucky gets off the bench and you walk up to the cockpit. All you see is water. Water, stretching as far as the eye can see. You take a deep breath.

"Jarvis is the tesseract's location pinpointed?" You ask.

"No, ma'am," Jarvis says.

"Shit." You mumble.  

Bucky looks at you, "You don't have to go. I got this."

"No, you aren't playing 'hero' alone." You squint at him.

"Alright, suit yourself." He shrugs.

You and Bucky put on wet suits and air tanks. As you put in your mouthpiece Bucky looks you up and down and says, "Damn, you look good." He says snarkily.

You reply, "Yeah, that makes one of us."

He stops dead in his tracks, "Hey! My ass looks amazing in this!"

You turn back around, glance at his ass, and say, "Sure it does bud." 

He glares at you and mumbles, "You're mean."

"I'm not the one who tried to kill his best friend."

"Why the hell are you so bitter?!" Bucky shouts.

"IT'S MY DEFENSE MECHANISM!! OKAY?!" You scream at him.

Bucky is taken aback by your yelling.

"Ever since I was young I was teased so I started teasing back in defense and that habit followed through to adulthood." You sigh.

You and Bucky get ready in silence. Finally, you get ready to dive in. The Quinjet's door opens and you stare into the deep blue water. Your heart rate increases and your eyes fill with fear. Bucky grabs your hand and looks into your eyes.

"It'll be okay." He says softly.

You nod and you dive in, hand in hand. You hit the water and all you see is blue. You feel a brush on your arm and you freak out, but Bucky grabs your arms so you see it was just him. You continue swimming, every little movement and fish scaring you. You then see a light blue glow. You grab bucky and you two swim down toward it. There it is. The Tessaract. You reach for it but something pulls you away from it aggressively. Bucky looks around in confusion and fear. Then you spin around to see it. The thing from when you fell in the water so long ago. Its claws cut through your suit and into your skin, the saltwater stinging the cut. You scream, hoping Bucky will hear, but no response from him. You punch and kick the monster but more of them swarm you. You get an alert. Oxygen tank running low. Not long until you have no air. You start punching and kicking harder. But the thing doesn't let go. Suddenly a burst of light blurs your vision but now you're not in the water. You're in an underwater bubble. A man with pitch-black hair in a navy blue super suit emerges.

"Who are you?" You back up from him.

"You're trespassing here. You need to leave."

"Believe me, I was trying real hard." You say.

"Those things are thirsty for human blood. Your blood." He tells you.

"They didn't attack you, why?" You ask.

"I'm not human."

"Then what are you?"

"Atlantian, if you will." He glares at you.

"Name?"

"I'm about to close this bubble."

"Do it. I don't need your help." You say with your chin held high.

He does. He closes the bubble and those things attack you again. You feel as though a couple of them are play tug of war with you as the rope. You feel one slash your side and finally, your air tank runs out. As you gasp for air, the things rip into your skin with their claws. You finally pass out. You wake up in a familiar room. Light grey walls, white vanity with a light surrounding the mirror, a black bed frame with purple sheets over the mattress, a matching purple fuzzy rug in the middle of the floor, and a white sliding door half-open revealing the contents of a closet. Your bedroom from when you were nineteen, which is when you first became a spy. You see Emily standing in the middle of the room. You run over to her and hug her.

"Emily!" You cry.

"Y/n." She smiles, the thing you remember the best about her. Her million-dollar smile.

"You're dead though." You continue.

"Yes. I am." She frowns.

"That means-"

"Yeah." She says, "But it isn't your time yet."

"W-what? I want to be here with you though."

"Yeah, but Bucky and Steve need you." She says.

"I can't. I can't leave you again!" You disagree.

"You have to. The Avengers need you." She tells you.

Then, suddenly, you wake up, coughing up water, in the Quinjet with Bucky sitting over you.

"Oh, my god. I thought you were dead!" Bucky says.

"I was, for a bit." You huff.

Bucky kisses you, passionately.