The Girl Who Would Be Queen

Chapter 3

Bucky sets off, decidedly taking the longer route to her house. He takes the less trafficked roads where he can slow down. Eventually he feels Lyria rest her head against his back.

"The city looks so beautiful from a bike. In a car you don't get to see as much of it because you have the roof and the door and while you're walking, you're just focused on walking and getting where you need to go," Lyria comments.

"One of the many reasons I love this bike. It feels like freedom; there are no walls boxing you in," he responds. "Do you trust me?"

"Something tells me I'm going to regret saying yes."

"Probably."

He hits a clear, empty stretch of road and starts to speed up. Almost in correlation to his speed, Lyria's grip on him tightens. Eventually she relaxes and lets out a cheer of exhilaration causing Bucky to smile.

He drives around the roads around the city for a little bit before pulling up to her house. When he stops, Lyria is laughing and holding onto him tightly. He helps her get off the bike.

"I'm guessing you had a good time?" He asks.

"I'll admit that was a lot more fun than I thought it would be. You're a very good driver."

"Why thank you very much. You're very good at holding on."

She smiles and looks up at him. "I guess this is goodnight. I can honestly say that I really enjoyed tonight and that was the best dance I've ever shared with a gay man in my life."

He laughs at her and suddenly notices he's holding onto her waist still. "I had a great time too, Lyria. I'm really excited to have you around."

"Bucky?"

"Yeah?"

"Do me a favor?"

"Sure, what's up?"

"Get some decent rest tonight and be safe tomorrow," she says sweetly.

"Aw, does someone care about my well-being?"

"Oh Bucky, of course I do," she says and places her hand on his chest. "If you die, who will ride me around on the motorcycle?"

He tips his head back and laughs. The sound is like music to her ears.

"You have the most beautiful laugh I've ever heard," she compliments quietly.

"Thank you. I can't remember the last time I've laughed as hard or as much as I have tonight. Hell I'm not sure I've smiled since 1945. I have to admit that I am having a great time with you."

"The feeling is mutual," she says before letting out a small yawn. "Wow, I'm exhausted. I don't know why but it all just hit me."

"Yeah, you should probably get to sleep. I will see you when I come back from the field."

She nods and kisses his cheek and walks into her house. Once inside, she looks out the window to make sure Bucky leaves safely and sees him softly touching his cheek smiling at the ground. After a moment he shakes his head and laughs to himself before getting onto his bike and driving off. Lyria giggles before going upstairs to take a shower.

After her shower, she lays on her bed, double-checks her alarm and falls asleep.

A week later, she is still waiting for her application to come back on the security clearance so she is in the lab working on a piece of medical technology.

"How's it coming along, kid?" Tony asks. She turns around to look at him.

"You're back!"

"Yes I am. My suit apparently has some minor design flaws I have to work out before I can rejoin everyone back out in the field. So tell me about your project. This doesn't look like anything Stark Industries has in production at the moment," he says gesturing to the projection before her.

"That's because it's nothing like what Stark Industries has worked on before. It's medical technology. The concept is, if you can hit the skin and muscle tissue with the right amount and type of light, it will provide the cells enough energy to promote healing."

"Won't the increase in light mean an increased risk of too much cell development?"

"Sure. That's why I have to find the sweet spot between healing cell multiplication and cancerous cell multiplication. It may take me a while to wrap my mind around the complexities of it all but I really do think this has the potential to change the world, Mr. Stark."

"I agree. I do think you might be onto something here. Keep working with it. I've put some pressure on the top dogs to try to get your application reviewed soon. Until then just whittle away at this."

She nods and turns back to her work. Tony watches her do her calculations for a few minutes before returning to his lab to work on his suit. An hour later when Lyria finally looks up from her work, she sees a man standing across the table from her, causing her to jump and scream.

"Who are you?" she asks, reaching for a screwdriver to threaten him with.

"Put the screwdriver down. I am a god, a screwdriver is no match for my abilities."