Meeting Her Eyes (Third Part of the Beyond Her Eyes Trilogy)

Chapter Eight

"Who's this chick again?" YN asked, pulling her knees to her chest as she sat in the back of their stolen Volkswagen.

"Sharon Carter." YN frowned, cocking her eyebrow at Sam. "She words for the CIA."

"Carter? As in-" YN hummed in astonishment at Sam's nod. "Well, then. Small world." YN watched as Steve awkwardly spoke to the blonde woman. She looked toward the car, where YN grinned and waved, making Bucky grab her hand and shake his head. "What?"

"Watch." Sam said, laughing under his breath.

"Can you move your seat up?" James asked quietly, grimacing as he shifted his leg again.

"No." YN rolled her eyes, shuffling over so James could sit in the middle.

"Told you we need a bigger car, Sam." YN looked through the crack of the seats as the blonde woman moved in on Steve, YN's heart tightening as they kissed for a moment, Steve pulling back quickly. YN looked to her lap awkwardly, biting her lip. "God, I think I'm going to be sick." She muttered, sinking into her chair.

"Don't sulk." Sam tutted, looking in the rearview mirror.

"Not sulking, just trying not to puke." Steve looked back to the vehicle, wincing as he caught sight of YN looking away. "Is he coming back yet?"

"YN-"

"Is he coming back, Sam?" YN insisted, refusing to look back up.

"Yep, heading back now." YN nodded, sinking in her seat even further.

"What's going on?" James asked, looking down to where YN had basically been swallowed by the car seat.

"Nothing." YN muttered, crossing her arms and pouting.

"Doesn't look like nothing." YN shot him a glare, making James raise an eyebrow. "You know you're not as terrifying now that I know you." YN rolled her eyes, shaking her head to mask her smile.

Steve opened the door after stuffing his shield and Sam's wing suit in the boot of their car. "Did you call Clint?" YN asked Sam, ignoring Steve's entrance altogether.

"Yep, he'll meet us there. Getting Wanda too." YN snorted, shifting back upright in her seat and rubbing her hands down her jeans.

"How does he expect to get past Vision? As much as Clint is amazing, Vision is literally..." YN cleared her throat, frowning. "What even is he?" Sam laughed, shrugging his shoulders.

"Beats me, I wasn't invited to that party." YN nodded, quickly flicking her eyes to Steve's in the rearview mirror, when the blue gems were already staring at her. YN stared into his eyes for a few seconds, swallowing down past a lump of nerves.

"We better move." James said, interrupting their moment.

"Right." Steve said, clearing his throat and starting the vehicle. "Who chose this thing anyway?"

"That would be your boyfriend." Steve raised an eyebrow, cocking his head. "Birdman." James snickered next to her, nudging her shoulder slightly. YN chuckled before falling silent, her mind replaying the past few hours over in her head. "Hey, James?"

"YN, you can call me Bucky." Bucky said, smiling down at the woman.

"Ah, okay, Bucky. If I ask a question, please don't feel pressured to answer it, okay?" Bucky nodded, the other two vehicle occupants frowning slyly at each other. "How come the Winter Soldier hesitated to attack me when he was ordered to? And again, when I stood right in front of him?" Bucky licked his lips, shifting in his seat. "Like I said, no pressure to answer."

"Uh-" Bucky cleared his throat, wincing slightly. "I didn't really want to be the one to tell you this. Especially not like this." YN frowned, both fear and curiosity coiling in her gut. "When I was with HYDRA, there was a story of a family of enhanced people that were imprisoned within HYDRA." YN nodded, her face twisting in confusion. "They called them the..."

"What, Bucky?" YN asked, eager to know why the man was so apprehensive.

"They called them the Eyes of Hades." YN didn't move, urging Bucky to continue. "The family were held and weaponized for years, and generations of warriors were born within HYDRA's walls." YN looked down sadly. "They had the power to inflict pain with one look, some could even kill without moving a muscle, but HYDRA dimmed their power, making them unable to use it without their permission." YN's eyes flicked up, finally realizing where he was going with this. "One morning, I was ordered to their cell to remove a brand-new baby, a baby girl."

YN swallowed, fisting her hands tightly. "Buck..." Steve said, eyeing the woman who was putting the pieces together.

"Keep going." YN muttered, unable to look up to meet anyone's eyes.

"The mother was sick, unable to recover from the birth. She died fifteen minutes after the baby was born." YN nodded, closing her eyes. "The father, heartbroken, broke free from his restraints. He grabbed the baby and managed to escaped HYDRA... A few days later, they found the father..." Bucky stopped, biting the inside of his cheek.

"Go on." YN said through clenched teeth. "Tell me."

"They found the father strung up in a motel room, a note stating he'd hidden his child away. We were never able to locate her." YN swallowed, lowering her head into her hands. "Until now."

"YN?" YN winced, a pain behind her left eye flaring up. "YN? You with me." Steve demanded, gripping the steering wheel tightly.

"Yeah... yeah, I'm okay." She whispered.

"YN, I am so sorry, I really didn't want to be the one to tell you. I don't know much else, as I didn't have much to do with that section of HYDRA. I was only sent down there to remove the bodies or collect the children." YN nodded, forcing a smile onto her lips.

"Thanks for telling me, Bucky." Bucky nodded, blinking his eyes at the woman in concern.

"The reason the Winter Soldier didn't approach you right away, was because he recognized you as a powerful threat. Someone he couldn't beat." YN frowned, shaking her head.

"But all I can do is cause pain, I can't kill anyone." YN muttered, raising her eyes to meet Bucky's.

"Probably due to the serums they injected your birth mother with whilst she was pregnant. These people, they could suck in power from others, it's how they became who they are. But HYDRA never allowed them to grow any bigger." YN nodded, sighing sadly.

"I always knew I was adopted. I just didn't think about having a tragic backstory like some sappy main character in a random novella." Bucky shook his head, smiling down to YN. She lifted her eyes, meeting Steve's in the mirror. "Does that mean I can go and beat up that blonde chick now?" Trying to cover her pain with humor.

Steve choked out a laugh, throwing his head back as he shook his head. "No, YN. It does not." YN grumbled, sinking down in her chair.