Soul Stealer ~ (A Bucky Barnes Love Story)

The Accords

I couldn't stop my knee from bouncing as I sat on the couch in the common room flanked by Bucky and Sam.  The TV had been glued to the news since the Avengers got back from their failed mission in Lagos, each story, every picture or video, was somehow worse than the last.

"Wakandans were among those killed during a confrontation between the Avengers and a group of mercenaries in Lagos, Nigeria, last month. The traditionally reclusive Wakandans were on an outreach mission in Lagos when the attack occurred."

When the picture changed to that of Prince T'Challa I winced, sinking further into the couch.  I hardly knew the man, but he'd helped me when he could have done nothing.  Watching the video of his countrymen hanging out of a burning building right before it collapsed was agonizing.

"Our people's blood is spilled on foreign soil. Not only because of the actions of criminals, but by the indifference of those pledged to stop them. Victory at the expense of the innocent, is no victory at all," the prince finished, his face hard.

I could practically hear Sam grinding his teeth beside me.  I reached over, taking his hand in mine, offering him a grim smile.

"Wanda?" I asked.

"Your dad is checking on her."

I nodded, eyes unfocused as I stared at the floor, my knee bouncing up and down again.  Bucky sighed, metal arm pressing down lightly on my leg to stop the movement.

"Sorry."

He grinned, leaning over and pressing a quick kiss against my temple.  "It's going to be alright."

For the last few weeks everyone kept saying that but I'm not sure anyone really believed it.  This was a failure for the Avengers.  A very public failure that cost dozens of innocent people their lives.  There would be a reconning of that I was certain.  What I wasn't so sure of was if I could pay the cost that reconning would require.

Natasha glided into the room, her face carefully blank which immediately put me on edge.  "Tony's here."  Everyone nodded, standing in unison.  "And he brought a friend."

"Who?" Sam asked.

"Thaddeus Ross."  My butt hit the couch, my vision fading to pinholes.  Bucky's arm whirled in protest, his body shifting to a defensive position in front of me.  "Let's all just stay calm."

I wasn't sure I could do that.  The last time Thaddeus Ross, otherwise known as the Secretary of State, stopped by the tower he did it with an army of robots that were hellbent on kidnapping and imprisoning me.  I'd had a lot of bad first impressions but this one took the cake.

"Buck..." Sam muttered quietly, trying to talk the former assassin down.  It wasn't lost on anyone Bucky wanted blood for what the man had done, and he'd yet to collect.  "He wants us to slip up.  If we go in there throwing fists we give him exactly what he wants."

"I'm going to do a hell of a lot more than that," my boyfriend replied, eyes still glued to the door like the boogie man might stroll through any minute.  A physical altercation wasn't the problem.  A dead Secretary of State was.

"I think that would be counterproductive."  Natasha, as always, appeared completely unruffled by the grave news, but I saw the strain in her body, the way she clenched her teeth occasionally.  She was nervous.  "Right now, our best bet is to hear what he has to say."

Taking a deep breath I got to my feet, edging around Bucky to stand at his side.  I slipped my smaller hand into his metal one, giving Natasha a confident nod that was all bravado.  "Lead the way."

Bucky said nothing, but I felt his rage clear as day through the bond.  Between that and my dread it would be all I could do to get through this meeting without throwing up.