Eva Odinsdottir *On Hold*

Chapter 9

Later that day, Eva found herself bored out of her mind. Most of the team had been called out for a mission, both of her brothers included, meaning she had nothing to do. She was currently sat in the living room, alone, trying to think of something entertaining to do. She's already tried to work the contraption on the wall, but the buttons on the small box refused to work. She eventually gave up, throwing the remote across the room. Since then, she has been sat in silence.

Little did Eva know that Bucky had been stood in the doorway for about 10 minutes just watching her. He was on his way through to the kitchen when he saw the remote for the tv fly into the wall. He stood and watched her have an internal struggle for a moment before she started to relax and has been in her own world ever since. He couldn't bring himself to say anything, so he stayed where he was and admired her for a while. Bucky couldn't understand how this girl had become so engraved into his mind. He had never felt this way about anyone before, even before the war. He knew he had to act on his feelings but the constant reminder that she might leave was holding him back. Steve told him to embrace the time they have together, but if the past has taught him anything it's the fact that he doesn't deserve to be happy. Or at least that's what he thought.

"Hello James." Eva says quietly, pulling Bucky from his thoughts. "Hello Eva. Are you alright? How come you're sat all by yourself?" Bucky says with a kind smile. Eva watches him carefully as he makes his way into the room and sits next to her. "Well, I tried to get the picture box to work but it wouldn't, so I've just been sat here trying to think of something to do." She admits, gesturing to the tv. Bucky can't help but chuckle at her remark. "Well, since the team are out on a mission, why don't we watch a movie?" Bucky says as he grabs the remote from the floor. "A movie?" Eva says nervously. "Yeah, uhm, it's like a, uhm, play but you can watch it on this." Bucky says, hoping she will understand what he is trying to say. "Oh, that would be nice." Eva says happily.

Once Bucky chooses an appropriate film – 'Penelope' being a good choice in his eyes – they sit back, and he places his arm around her shoulders. Eva hides her wings so she can be more comfortable. Throughout the film, Eva shuffles closer to Bucky, resting her head in his shoulder and her legs over his. She places her right hand on his chest, prompting Bucky to hold it with his left. He hesitates at first, not knowing how Eva would react to his metal arm, but quickly relaxes when she accepts his hand.

At the end of the film, when Penelope accepts her imperfections and is made beautiful again, Bucky can hear small sniffles from the girl in his arms. "Are you ok?" He asks quietly, tilting her head up to face him. "Yes, I'm fine. I'm just happy she got her happy ending." Eva replies, allowing Bucky to wipe her tears away. Bucky never realised how Eva could have related so much to the film. Eva had mentioned being hidden away by her father because of her wings. How could he have been such an idiot? Eva gently pulls away from him and repositions herself the way she was, focusing on the end of the film. "Do you want to watch another one?" Bucky asks, knowing it's probably best to change the subject. "Sure." Eva says.

Bucky puts another film on, only for Eva to fall asleep on his chest not even 20 minutes later. He chuckles silently to himself before pulling her body closer and laying down with her. He wraps both of his arms around her, keeping her warm in his embrace, before slowly drifting off into his own slumber.

The pair end up sleeping for about 3 hours before Eva wakes up in shock and sits up abruptly, waking Bucky in the process. "Loki! Don't do that!" she exclaims as she pushes her brother's hand off her shoulder. "Sorry. I just thought you would like to know that we are back." Loki replies. Eva takes in her brother's features to see that he has a bruise setting in on the side of his face and a cut on his lip. She immediately raises her hand to his face, causing him to hiss quietly. "Sorry, I didn't mean to make it worse." She then says, pulling her hand away. "It's fine, I'll be fine by tomorrow. So, what's going on here?" Loki says as he looks between the pair who were just sleeping in each other's arms. "We were just, uhm, watching a movie and we must have fell to sleep." Bucky says, nervous about the god's reaction. Loki nods in reply, a smirk permanently attached to his lips. "Well, I'm very sorry but Thor is requesting Eva's presence. I'm sure you two can catch up later." Loki then says, pulling his sister off the sofa and leading her out the room. Eva quickly looks back to Bucky, sending a kind smile his way making his heart swell. He can't believe how lucky he is that she walked into his life.