affliction

sixty-one

75k ahhhh thank you <3

Beth's POV

-Flashback-

I'm walking through the halls to the training room. When my door was unlocked a few minutes ago, they told me to head down, so that's what I'm doing now.

I open the big metal door and step inside. The same few men are already in there waiting for me, plus a few I don't know.

One of them turns towards me. "Ah, my affliction. Glad you came so quick." He takes a few strides and makes it to me. "We're going to work on your skills today."

I don't talk much, so I just stare at him.

He nods. "Perfect." He walks me to the opposite side of the room where a group of people were being held in cages. He motions towards them. "You will be fighting them in preparation for your mission next week." He turns me by my shoulder to face him. He speaks lowly to me. "No mercy. Understood?"

I just slowly nod and turn back towards the cages. He sticks a butterfly knife in my hand and then backs away, walking over to a man who holds the control panel.

"Alright, opening cage." The sound of a lock clicks and the woman's head shoots up. The man turns towards the woman in the cage, speaking directly to her. "If you beat her, you go free. Begin."

She immediately charges at me. She doesn't even get to lay a hand on me because I slice her throat the second she gets within arms length of me.

Another sound of a door pops open. "Again."

I wake up with a gasp, shooting off of Bucky's chest. He jolts awake the second I do, sitting up to look at me. "What's wrong?"

I shake my head. "Did they make you kill people for training, too?"

He makes a face, rubbing his hands up and down my arms. "Yeah, they did."

I huff, lowering my head. "Why did I have a nightmare? I haven't had one in so long."

He reaches forward and brings my head to his chest. "It's just because we were talking about how guilty you felt right before bed. It was already on your mind." He laughs a little as he runs his hands through my hair. "It's just an outlier in your experiment. Doesn't change your results, don't worry."

I laugh a little and wraps my arms around his waist. "Thanks."

He hums and tilts my head up towards him. "Want me to go get you some water?"

I shake my head. "No, I'll get it. The walk down will help distract me."

He nods. "Alright. Just yell for JARVIS if you need me."

I smile at him and kiss his cheek as I get up. I move to grab the shorts I discarded on the floor yesterday. "Will do. Be back in a minute."

I decide to take the stairs down to further get my mind off things. I make it all the way down to the correct floor and step out into the hall, making me way to the kitchen. I hear noises in there, someone must be awake still. I'm not even exactly sure what time it is.

The second I step foot in the kitchen, I instantly regret it.

I let out a blood curdling scream, my hands moving to cover my eyes. "Oh my god! I'm scarred for life! Tony, for the love of god, why?"

Him and Pepper and fucking on the dining table.

In my spot.

I continue screaming and rambling random things, yelling at Tony when I hear someone running up behind me. "What? What's wrong?"