Soul Stealer ~ (A Bucky Barnes Love Story)

Fall On Me

Grumbling under my breath I walked into the communal kitchen, ignoring the lingering soreness in my recently broken ankle. It'd been three weeks since my unplanned skydive, and my body was good as new.

I froze at the sight of a tall man sitting at the breakfast bar drinking one of Tony's sodas. He looked completely at ease in the Avengers personal space though I knew he was no Avenger. He turned to me, casually drinking his soda while we observed each other shrewdly. He didn't say anything and neither did I. I had a pretty good idea who he was, and I didn't want any part of whatever shenanigans he was unleashing. I had a mission, and it had nothing to do with him or his stylish eye patch.

"You must be Cap's long, lost daughter," he said with a nod.

"You must be Fury," I replied, drumming my fingers on the marble countertop. "Tony said your shtick was showing up out of the blue."

"Did he now?" He leaned back in the bar stool, studying me. "Tony didn't tell me what your shtick was."

He was lying, but it was sweet he tried.

I snorted, "Withholding information is kind of Tony's shtick." He laughed, taking a sip of his stolen drink. He wasn't bothered by my refusal to answer his question. I got the feeling not much ruffled his feathers. "Well, it was nice to meet you."

"I don't suppose your dad or Tony mentioned the fact that the United States Government is somewhat concerned two weapons of mass destruction with a somewhat, controversial history, are suddenly Avengers." I froze, grinding my teeth together. "Didn't think so."

"I'm not an Avenger," I countered, turning and crossing my arms over my chest.

He smiled. "Satellite footage over Austria says otherwise."

"Pretty sure that footage just shows me falling out of a plane." There was nothing heroic about that.

He cocked his head to the side slightly, pursing his lips. If I hadn't spent the last several decades enduring much worse it would have made me a tad twitchy.

"Weren't you the one who gave us the intel?" He only smiled, and I rolled my eyes. This was exhausting. "You wanted us to go so what's the problem?"

"I don't have one." He gestured to himself, standing. "But I'm not the Government."

"Can you skip to the big reveal? I have shit to do."

"You are your mother's daughter." I hated that he was another person who knew my mother better than I did. "I think you and Barnes are dangerous."

"That is brand new information," I deadpanned.

He continued, completely ignoring my sarcasm. "But dangerous doesn't equal a threat. There are others who don't share my opinion." A chill raced down my spine, but I kept my face blank. He wasn't telling me anything I didn't already know, but hearing it, out loud, was unsettling to say the least. "Your dad and Tony are trying to protect you, but there will come a time, and soon, when they may not be able to stop what's coming."

He paused to let his warning sink in. I counted to ten in my head to make it look like I was listening. It was nice of him to warn me, but that wasn't his true motive. He was a collector of powerful weapons, and I was one of the worst, but if he thought he could manipulate me into the superhero gig he had another thing coming.

Despite the shared DNA I wasn't my father. I didn't want to save the world. My goals were far less lofty. I wanted Bucky safe, at peace, everything else was just icing on the cake.

"And your advice is what, that officially joining the Avengers helps our case?"

He shrugged, "Couldn't hurt."