Thunder Wolf [B.Barnes]

Chapter 16

When Fern woke, Bucky was gone, and Ryker was nestled at her feet. Ryker's ears perked at her shuffling, and they made eye contact. He moved to lay next to her, Fern happily running her hands through Ryker's soft fur. "I scared you guys last night, didn't I?" Fern sighed.

"You did," Fern glanced at the door seeing Bucky leaning against the door frame. "I don't think I've ever heard a more heartbreaking scream in my life." He walked over, sitting on the edge of her bed, brushing hair out of her face. Bucky felt like he should be somewhat of an expert on screams.

"I haven't had nightmares in a long time. I'm sorry for scaring you." Fern closed her eyes, smiling at the feeling of Bucky running his hand through her hair.

"I don't think I should be who you need to apologize to. I think you gave Tony a heart attack; I don't think he went back to sleep," Bucky chuckled. "How about we skip training today? We can start tomorrow when you've slept properly."

"Okay," Fern looked up at Bucky's eyes, knowing not to look for too long. "I should go talk to Tony. He's probably ready to bust in here and make sure I'm still okay."

"Sounds like a plan; I'm going to make breakfast," Bucky pressed a kiss to Fern's cheek before leaving the room.

"He– I– You saw that, right?" Fern looked to Ryker, who snorted at her climbing off of the bed. "Oh, don't even. Let me be the teenager I never really got to be." Fern rolled her eyes, swatting at Ryker as he nipped at her heels. Finally, the two stopped their bickering and went to find Tony in the lab. Fern knocked at the glass door as she walked through it.

"You're awake; how are you?" Tony asked, stopping his work to walk over to her.

"I'm okay. I'm sorry for scaring you. I don't know what brought on that nightmare," Fern weakly smiled. Tony shook his head, pulling her into a tight hug.

"Don't you dare say you're sorry. We've all been through some horrible things. So do not apologize to me," Tony chuckled. "So, what's your plan today, kiddo?" His mood changed so quickly Fern was shocked. She knew what he was doing, trying to make her not worry or feel bad.

"I think I'm going to take Bucky to the lake. Would you like to come? It's nice; I feel like you need a break for your lab every once in a while," Fern smiled, jumping onto a lab table swinging her feet.

"I'm going to pass today; I have a few things I want to get done before I leave tomorrow. Oh, Nat called, and she's planning on coming back, along with Wanda, Clint, and Peter. If you're up for visitors," Tony turned back to his work playing with a design for a suit. "What color should it be?"

"Who's it for? And I'll make sure the Thunderbird knows they're coming," Fern looked at the design, feeling that it was elegant but still combat-ready.

"You," Tony smiled, turning to her. "When I get back to the compound, I'll have it made and bring it back when it's done. I know you don't want it, but if you ever need it." Tony sighed, feeling a slight bit of anxiety in his chest.

"Green, different shades with some black and brown accents. Let me blend into the world that my powers work with," Fern giggled. "I understand, Tony. I'm sure it's going to be amazing. Add a feature that allows the shoes to go away; I'm stronger when I can touch the ground."

"I feel like I should have a list of everything you can do before I go too much further. A basic design is great until it doesn't work," Tony rolled his eyes, adding a note to the design.

"Being able to dig my feet into the ground is like the only big thing. Pouches for different materials would be good; I can grow anything as long as I have a part of it. My hands and feet are the big things." Fern shrugged, watching as Tony typed notes.

"I've got a few ideas to boost your powers may be; it wouldn't be much. I haven't completely worked them out, so we'll count them as prototypes. I'll make sure you're combat-ready and ready for anything," Tony played with the diagram of the design moving parts of it.

"I'm sure I will be," Fern looked over as the glass door slid open, Bucky leaning against the door frame.

"Breakfast," Bucky smiled at her. Tony waved them off with a chuckle; Fern jumped down from the table and joined Bucky. The pair walked down the hall in comfortable silence. "So, what do you think of your suit? Tony has some pretty good ideas."

As they walked into the kitchen, Fern laughed, "You don't cook much, do you?" Bowls of fruit sat on the island.

"Steve did most of the cooking back in the day. I'm not sure if I've ever had to cook for myself or someone else for that matter. So I went with something I figured I couldn't mess up." Bucky sat next to her, smiling.

"This is great, Bucky, really," Fern picked at the fruit, placing some in her mouth with a smile. "So, I thought that we could go to the lake today. It's going to be warm, and it's nice this time of year, not too many bugs."

"That sounds nice." Bucky nodded. Bucky seemed off, and it worried Fern, "Would you ever want to visit the compound? Or leave here at all?"

"Of course, why do you ask?" Fern bit the inside of her cheek, not sure of what his reply was going to be.

"Steve has a mission that he'd like my help on, and I'll have to be gone for a while. But I thought that maybe you'd like to see my world a little bit. Tony throws parties all of the time, so maybe you'd like to go to one of those." Bucky shrugged, glancing at her while he picked at the fruit in his bowl.

"You don't have to spend all of your time with me, Bucky. I'm not expecting you to drop your life and just be here all of the time," Fern sighed, grabbing his hand in hers. "I would love to see your world; I would love to do anything with you, Bucky. I've been stuck in this forest my whole life, and now that things have changed, I feel like I can finally leave for a time without being scared of coming back to nothing." Fern touched Bucky's cheek; he tilted his head to look at her. Fear and sadness filled his eyes, and it broke her heart.

"I know you said that the Thunderbird only shows possibilities, but I want that possibility to happen. I want to know what it's like to be happy and not have to worry about what's next. I want to feel free." Bucky's voice cracked as he held back tears.

"You are free, Bucky. I want you to remember that you will always have a home here with me no matter what. The future is ever-changing, but we're going to make ours how we want it. Okay?" Bucky pulled Fern into a hug hiding his face in the crook of her neck. His silent nod was all she needed for an answer. Fern smiled, running her fingers through Bucky's hair and rubbing his back as she felt him shake with quiet sobs. Fern wasn't expecting Bucky to begin crying, but she was happy that he did; Bucky was still human even when he didn't believe it himself some days.