Necessary Good, Unnecessary Evil | No rest For Wounded Souls [Bucky Barnes]

Bonding Time

"What happened in the past that was painful has a great deal to do with what we are today."
-William Glasser

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Nova's POV

I tap my foot on the floor nervously, my head hurts from the lack of sleep, and my stomach growls every minute.
I don't know how long I've been down here with Tony, trying to figure out what's the deal with that necklace.
It's a mineral, but it seems impossible to determine what kind.
It's impossible to break, so we can't take any samples.
"I don't think it's from here," Tony comments, pacing around the table.
"That's not possible. How could my mom have it? There must be another explanation." I object.
"Look, there's no such stone like this here. I don't know how Amanda got it, but it's not from Earth." He responds, dropping down on a chair.
"It doesn't make any sense," I mutter, taking the necklace and staring at the small pendant. I was sure it was gold or some other metal. How can it be a mineral?
"Do you know where she got it?" Tony sighs, peering at me.
I shake my head, forcing myself to go back in my memories, trying to remember something useful. "She had it since she was a kid," I mumble, frustrated. Everything is so blurred, I can't settle enough to think.
"Well, somehow she got it. The real question is, how did you get it?" He ponders, pointing his finger at me.
I put down the necklace, resting my closed fist on the table.

Tony stares at me as I tell him how I got the necklace.
"And you didn't think to tell me that a random faceless guy brought you stuff belonging to your deceased mother?" Tony chides, spreading his arms in disbelief.
"The guy who brought it to me had a face. The other man who gave it to him on the other hand..." I mutter, crossing my arms on my chest.
"Look, Tony, things happened. I didn't have time."
"I don't have anything here that can help with that." He nods at the necklace.
"We can't treat it with Earth stuff if it's not from Earth." I shrug.
"Maybe I can get some alien artifacts from SHIELD and see if they work." Tony proposes, but I know this will take too long.
"It may work with something we would call magic, but somewhere else is just standard technology. If we can't study the body, we can maybe study the phenomenon." Tony's eyes light up, and he stands.

"You have an idea, don't you?" He smirks, and I put the jewelry back on.
"When I was there, one of them tried to take it. It started floating and shining. When that man touched it, he burned himself. So it's definitely some kinda chemical-magical reaction to something." I rant, gesticulating and walking in front of him.
I know there must be some kind of connection between that and the fact that I'm still here.
"Like it was protecting itself?" He cocks his head, looking at me.
"Or me," I add, and I'm pretty sure I look like a fool as I smile at him.
Tony gapes at me, and I can see the gears whirling in his head.
"Hit me," I say bluntly, lifting my chin and closing my eyes.
"What?" He utters, and I open my eyes again, seeing him looking at me perplexed.
"Hit me," I say again, getting ready, and I hear him sigh.
"I'm not gonna hit you," Tony states, crossing his arms.
"C'mon. For science." I cheer him up, rubbing my hands together.
"No." He scowls, walking away. I get back in front of him, putting my hands on his shoulders.

"I can take it," I reassure him, but Tony doesn't seem to care.
"I don't care." As I said.
"Why?" I groan, running my fingers through my hair.
"I'm not hitting you," he argues, putting his hands up.
I bop my head, keeping my hands on my hips.
He is not going to like that.
I swing my arm, hitting his jaw with my fist, keeping myself from actually going hard on him.
"Have you lost your mind?" He shouts, stumbling back while he holds his face.
"Don't act like you don't deserve it. You never came to any of my games," I jest, hoping this will spices things up.
"Yeah, because I didn't know you existed." He retorts, gaping at me.
"For fuck sake, Tony hit me!" I almost beg him, tired of this shit.
We have been down here forever with no results.
His hand hits my cheek, and I feel the sting immediately, actually surprised he did it.
"I knew that was a bad idea." He bellows, walking off.
"Touch it. Does it burn?" I run to him, and he takes the pendant in his hand.