The Winter Witch (A Hawkeye/Avengers fanfic)

Chapter 4

Bucky and Winter followed Natasha and Clint off the elevator onto a floor that Winter was surprised to see was more like an apartment. It had a small sitting area with a couch and a couple of chairs, a tv, a small kitchenette with a fridge and small stove, and a small bar with stools. It was simple, but what took Winter really by surprise were all the guns, knives, and arrows that were strewn about the coffee table. Natasha led them further in down a hallway. She pointed to the door on the right.

"This is Clint's room," she gestured and then pointed further down, "The room at the end is mine," she then turned to the door to the left, "And this is your room."

Winter gasped as Natasha opened the door. The room was huge. There was a large bed with bedside tables that had lamps on them on either side. To the left was a closet and an ensuite bathroom. To the right of the bed was floor to ceiling windows with a desk that looked out over the view of the city and a lounge chair in the corner. Natasha went into the bathroom to make sure it was fully stocked so Winter could take a shower and freshen up.

"We'll go shopping in the next couple of days and get you some of your own clothes, but in the meantime, I have some you can borrow so you can get out of that jumpsuit." Natasha left to get some clothes, leaving Bucky and Winter in her new room. As Natasha passed Clint in the doorway, she grabbed his arm and pulled him away.

Winter hesitantly sat down on the bed, afraid that she might break it or make it dirty. She wasn't used to this type of luxury. Bucky sat down next to her and took her hand.

"Are you ok?" he asked.

Winter looked up, "Honestly, I don't know. This is so much to take in. Last thing I remember is being in my cell and the next thing I know, I wake up in a strange lab with that doctor trying to fix me and then this guy just teleports in and then all those people come rushing in and then you show up and..."

"Whoa, take a breath," Bucky says as he interrupted her rambling.

"James, I thought you were dead. I didn't think I would ever see you again, let alone get out of there." She squeezed his hand, "What happened after they took you?"

Bucky sighed, "I snapped when they injected you and they figured out how close we actually had become. They put me back under and reprogramed me to go after Steve. It wasn't too long after that when they got me out and helped me be rid of Hydra's control." He hesitated and looked at Winter's hands holding his. "I never should have let them take me. I should have fought harder to protect you. Every Hydra facility we went to, I would secretly hope that you would be there, and I would find you. I started to lose hope until I walked into that room and saw you."

"What's going to happen to me now?" she whispered.

"We'll help you. Loki has powers too, maybe he can help you learn to control yours and if you want, you could even join the team. We still have a lot of Hydra facilities we need to take down. It'll take time, but we can finally end this, together."

Winter smiled at his optimism. She wasn't sure if she was the most stable person to have on the team, but she didn't want to let her James down. There was a knock on the door. Natasha walked in and handed Winter some clothes.

"If you need anything, Clint is right across the hall. I'm going to the training room for a few hours but will be back later." With that, Natasha left.

Noticing how tired Winter looked, Bucky decided it would be best to let her rest. "You're leaving?" she asked.

Bucky gave her a small smile, "You need rest Winter. And I'm just a floor above you. If you need anything or need me, just ask JARVIS. He's the tower's computer. Clint is right across the hall. I know you don't know him but he's a good guy, I trust him."