Snowfall

2

Your ears were practically ringing by the time Bruce had a chance to look at you and assess your injuries. The exhaustion fully kicked in as you swayed back and forth slowly trying to keep yourself awake. "Looks like we got to you just in time. By the looks of your scans and listening to your lungs you've suffered from major contusions from blunt force trauma." He stated putting his stethoscope around his neck. "You need to rest for the rest of the day with light activity as needed. Stay on campus. I'll monitor you throughout the day." He recommended in his soft tone.

"Thanks B" you finally said after a long yawn.

He gently kissed the top of your head, "Of course. Go see Fury and then get some rest." He chuckled before returning to his charts. Slowly you trudged out of the room smiling to yourself. Seeing your friend so happy in a medical setting helping his friends and staying actively engaged with the Avengers lightened your heart. You could tell Bruce felt so much better in this role, able to leave the Hulk behind.

After a quick elevator ride and a long walk down the hallway in the east wing, you arrived at a lobby space. Behind the desk was a red head with glasses buried deep in her computer. "Hey Stace" you mumbled pleasantly as you passed by still in your gear from the mission.

"Morning y/n. Go right in" she ushered as you approached Nick's office door. Once inside his large office you took a look outside through the glass window that wrapped around the whole office. The morning light was a bit too much for how tired you truly were. You winced as you sat down in a chair and took a look around the room. Steve sat three chairs down the long boardroom table. Bucky sat at the end opposite of you. Your eyes locked for a moment causing your heart to malfunction. Your already low blood pressure dipped even lower and your head became fuzzy.

"How did this seemingly simple assignment become such a shit show?" Fury asked with a bite in his tone.

You gulped slightly, "see what happened was" you began.

"I don't want to hear it!" He yelled causing you to close your eyes tightly in regret. You shared a quick glance with Steve feeling like a kid who just got slapped on the wrist. "I expect more from you three. You are my first strings! I don't want to see this again" he growled. The warning came across loud and clear. "Go get yourselves cleaned up" he dismissed you, "and Cap I want to see the debrief on this on my desk by tonight" he ordered.

Steve stood to his full height and curtly nodded his head in agreement, "yes sir".

"Ahh someone looks like they got a good nights sleep!" Tony joked as he placed a giant family style plate of eggs in front of you.

"Yeah yeah not all of us are old enough to claim our AARP benefits and have retired." You grumbled playfully.

"Ouch. See that really is a comment for our good friend Capsicle over there" he gestured in Steve's direction. From across the room you could see the smirk on Buckys face as his expertly trained ears picked up on your words. "And I'm not retired. Just pulling back my hours" Tony jested popping a forkful of eggs in his mouth.

"Eat up Y/N we had a long night" Steve advised as he sat down next to you. Even after an entire night of combat he managed to still smell fresh while you were purposefully hiding your armpits in hopes no one smelled them with the slightest of arm movement.

"Not that hungry, just ready to shower" you shot back quickly stealing two pieces of toast and bouncing to your feet. You were eager to get clean and go to sleep to aid your sore body.

On the way back to your room you had to walk by the medical suite. The glass let you see Bruce hard at work. He casually looked up and put a thumbs up in the air as if to ask of you were feeling ok. You quickly responded with a thumbs up as well before heading down the south hallway. While you waited for the elevator at the end of the hall you couldn't help but relive every moment of last night in your mind. The way he held you so tight. His scent. His voice in your ear. It sent chills down your spine. The beep alerting you of the elevator snapped you out of your thoughts which left you feeling empty and cold. Traveling up four floors and to the end suite with a black door and a wreath made of thorns adorning it, you finally made it home. You were one of the lucky ones. Tony, Bucky, you and Spidey had vast balconies with open views all around to see the grounds. On your fourth floor southern wing you had neighbors of Wanda and Vision not to mention Loki. At last after another hour of slowly getting out of your suit from last night and getting stuck in your ripped leather pants for awhile, you were finally laying your body to rest. Every muscle screamed with an ache as you tried to relax yourself enough to drift into a sleep.

You had blacked out for three hours when your eyes opened again. Groaning you looked at the clock highly annoyed with your body's natural rhythm. "Come on y/n go back to sleep. Don't do this now" you coached yourself out loud. You were a notorious one for roaming the halls at night due to your insomnia. You closed your eyes to try again and laid still for about five minutes. The sounds of the birds and recruits running drills on the grounds filled your ears. It became overwhelming. Without even thinking you had tossed your pillow across the room in anger. You angrily walked out to your balcony taking in the scenes of the day around you. The sun shone bright in the sky warming your skin. You didn't want to admit it but it felt incredibly good. It was calling you back into the hustle and bustle of the day rather than your bed. Quickly you tied up your hair and poured a drink from your bar cart. A double jack and coke. Taking a sip you moaned in satisfaction and headed out your door.

Your feet took you outside to the back main grounds. Maybe a walk would coax you back into the relaxation you desperately needed. Only a few moments passed by before your training had alerted you that someone was behind you and indeed your ears picked up on the footsteps. These were well trained and mostly silent. They stayed in the path of your own. "I thought you only roamed at nighttime" Buckys soft voice wafted into your ears and down to your chest where he made it hard to breathe.

"Couldn't sleep?" You asked him and he nodded his head yes pushing back his long hair.

"Something like that" he sighed, "mind if I join?" He motioned to the path ahead of you.

"Of course not" you smiled as you sipped your drink.

"Let me try that" he demanded softly grabbing your glass before you could say no. He took a sip and coughed. "Damn you could give Tony a run for his money. You are a heavy handed bartender. That's a woman after my own heart" he chuckled handing the glass back to you. The blush evident on your cheeks and it wasn't the alcohol. It made it hard to walk thinking of you being his. That was something you didn't think could ever be possible. You were always going to be his team mate and that's all. "Tell me something I wouldn't know about you" he wondered opening up conversation after a few beats of comfortable silence.

"Bucky you know me pretty well." You argued.

"Eh just try. I'm sure you could surprise me." He pressured with a devilish smile on his face.

"Ok fine" you accepted the challenges and fell silent staring at the clouds as you thought of something good. "Ok one time when I was six I went horseback riding. And it was amazing! Probably the happiest I had been the whole summer that is...until I fell face first in a pile of mud." You admitted.

"Did the horse buck you off?" He asked clearly interested.

"Hell yeah he bucked me off and when I looked up wiping mud from my eyes a giant toad was sitting there and croaked at me. I ran away screaming! And ever since that day I've been afraid of all frogs and toads. You will not see me ever dressing up as the princess and the frog for Halloween" you laughed. Bucky threw his head back with a smile as he took in the story. You had never seen him so alive. More importantly you had never been the person to make him feel this way.

An hour of passing anecdotes back and forth and you both were ready to rest your legs. Underneath the shade of a willow tree you laid on the soft, warm grass. Bucky lay next to you. "You make things seem normal. You make me feel normal" he mumbled but your ears caught every word. All you could do was lay there and try not  to get the big fat smile on your face noticed by him.

"I'm glad" was all you could say even though your heart was about to take off into space. The pair of you laid in the grass for another two hours side by side in silence. Bucky looked over at you and found you facing him with closed eyes now peacefully asleep. He smiled to himself taking you in and feeling content for the first time in awhile. He turned his head back to the sky and closed his eyes as well. He finally felt safe enough to do so.