It's Forbidden

A Bit Overwhelming

Aspen and Bucky walk into the living room together and everyone is sitting around talking and drinking together. The first person to notice them was Steve. And he made it obvious they were there. Like they needed a formal announcement, which Aspen and Bucky hated. They hated when they had eyes on them.

"Look who finally decided to join on." Steve said. He had that older brother smug look on his face like a sibling did when the other got in trouble and they were snitching to their parents. Aspen and Steve always butted head. They loved each other and they would always look out for each other but like all siblings they fought from time to time. Especially now. Because of Aspen and Bucky.

There was no Aspen and Bucky really. They were just two people who went through the same thing who confided in one another and were best friends. But one could argue they flirted and they seemed like they could be together, but they weren't.

Aspen decided to ignore Steve's comment and attitude and just get this over with. "Hi..." she said. She wasn't necessarily shy, but she had been through so much she wasn't a people person and talked to as few people as she possibly could. She didn't know how to talk to people anymore. Unless it was Steve or Bucky, and she want even side how to talk to Steve at this point.

The first person to respond was a red headed woman. Her hair was short, she was pretty. She had bright red lipstick on and was drinking a bright red drink. "Hi. I'm Natasha. We've met already but I'm glad this time is under better circumstances." She says. Aspen and Bucky were hoping nobody would bring it up. But now it was said. It was the elephant in the room.

"Yea...me too." Was all Aspen could respond. And Bucky said nothing. He just kind of stared. He did that, a lot. Especially when he was nervous or not sure what to say, or if he was mad, or sad or pretty much anything he would stare. It was his go to. His line of defense. Not much of a defense but it was what he did.

The next person to say something was a man. He looked like he had been through the ringer but he still smiled. He looked sweet, polite. He was the kind of guy who cared. By looking at him you could tell he was a father. He had that soccer dad look. "I'm Clint." He says with a warm smile. Welcoming. Aspen found a sort of comfort in it. She knew she could trust him.

Another man spoke up. A man everyone knew. Without an introduction. And he addressed that. "You already know who I am. I'm Tony." He says. He was holding a martini and was dressed in a suit. He was obviously rich and he wanted everyone to know it too. He was cocky but he had a good heart.

"I'm Thor. It's nice to meet you." A man with linger blonde hair says. It was tied back in a low ping tail. Aspen and Bucky had never seen him before. "You weren't there when we got out." Bucky says. He was the only person in the room they hadn't seen before.

"I was in Asgard." He says. As if either of them knew what as of Asgard was. Even Steve had only recently learned about Asgard and other worlds and realms. "Asgard?" Aspen asked. Voicing her confusion. She was never shy about asking questions. She wanted all the answers, she hated being in the dark.

"We have a lot to catch you up on. I'm Wanda by the way." Another women says. And too had red hair. Hers was a bit longer though. It was curled. Like she had braids in over night and then took them out. She wore a flannel top and jeans. She was standing next to a short man in a purple button up. A man Aspen and Bucky recognized instantly.

"Uhm. I'm Bruce. You probably remember me." He says. And they did. Bruce did experiments on them when they got out of mind control. None that hurt them, but they still had PTSD from it. It reminded them of Hydra, and they didn't consent to the experiments, Steve made the decision for them.

And they understood why he did. He wanted them out of the mind control and wanted to get them better, they weren't mad at Steve of Bruce. But part of them was scared of Bruce because at one point he had them vulnerable, strapped to a table and at his will.

But he looked like he could be the sweetest guy. So they tried to hold judgment because he was only trying to help them. But when Aspen made the connection, her mouth got ahead of her and she spoke her thoughts aloud. "You're the guy who did excitements on us." She said. She had a calm tone.

It wasn't accusing. She was just recalling. Putting two and two together. But Steve didn't like that. He jumped right on it. "Really Aspen?" He asked. Nobody else, not even Bruce cared that she had said that because it was true. She was processing her was the same guy. But Steve took it to heart for some reason.

"He did Steve. Leave her be." Bucky says. Bucky hated when Aspen and Steve fought. Especially when it was just Steve picking on Aspen for no reason. Aspen loved how Bucky defended her, she thought it was sweet but she didn't want Steve to be mad at Bucky. "James it's fine." She whispered to Bucky and her hand brushed his metal one, trying to gesture that she was okay.

A man interrupts. Obviously kind of upset no one had spoken to him yet. An attention seeker but in all a nice and funny guy. "Y'all wanna forget about me but I'm Sam." He says. As soon as he finishes his sentence, a kid, not really a kid but a teenage boy, who was sitting in the corner on his phone spoke up.

"I'm Peter Parker. Im Spiderman." He says. He looks like a very sweet, very innocent kid. And Aspen could tell he had a kind heart and he didn't chose to be in this life. She had also found herself questioning his statement. 'I'm Spiderman.' She had never heard of something like that before, neither had Bucky.

"What's a Spiderman?" She asks. Before her question is answered, the man with the long blonde hair, Thor, interrupted. "Did she call you James? Is that your real name?" Thor asks Bucky. As he pokes himself probably his third drink since Bucky and Aspen had entered the room. "Yea," Bucky says. "But everyone calls me Bucky. Only Aspen can call me James." He says.

Part of Aspen wished he didn't say the last part because she knew Steve would hate it, but she liked how he made it clear that only she called him James. For as long a they could remember, Bucky had been called Bucky. James was too formal, he didn't like being called James. Unless it was by Aspen. And as predicted, Steve rolled his eyes and shook his head at the two of them.

Quickly changing the topic, getting the attention on himself, Tony spoke up. "Listen, I hate to be that guy, but Barnes if you're gonna roll with the avengers, you're gonna need to cut that mop of yours." Tony says. Gesturing to Bucky's long brown hair.

The style wasn't his choice. He had it long because he was never coherent to cut it. He wanted to cut if bud he didn't know how and was afraid he would mess it up. And no sooner than Tony said that, Natasha had something to say to Tony. "Tony did you just say rolling with the Avengers? Dork." She said. Asked and answered.

This group was chaotic and energetic together. Too much for two people who had been tortured and frozen for the majority of their lives and had just come back from an ice nap. "I'm going back to my room." Aspen says. "Buck do you wanna come with me? I can cut your hair if you want." She asks him.

He looks relieved at the invite to leave, and to leave with her made it better. So he jumped at the chance. "Yes please." He said quietly and him and Aspen left the room.