Familiarity

Chapter 23

      "Emilia?" Bucky asked as his eyes blinked open. He lifted his head, trying to see through the daze he was in. Emilia was curled up in a ball at the end of the couch, tucked in the corner. His head was pounding, and when he reached up to run his hands through his hair, he was shocked by the pain that shot through his chest. "Emilia?" he asked again more urgently wondering what happened last night; he barely remembered how he got back from Europe.
He tried to sit up but his motion caused Emilia to shift. He bit his lip, fighting the pain until he sat up straight. Bucky reached his hand out to Emilia and held her hand that was resting on her knee, he felt her heartbeat in her wrist and was relieved that he didn't kill her.
Upon his touch, Emilia's eyes flew open. Once her sight was focused she stared at Bucky for a while, and he let her stare in silence. "Bucky?" she asked, her voice trembling slightly.
He nodded, she still stared at him. Emilia reached her hand out, grabbing his right shoulder; he winced as her thumb hovered over his bullet wound.
"You tried to kill me," she muttered, her messy bed head making her look menacing.
Bucky only nodded again.
      "Anything you want to say?"
      He shook his head, maintaining eye contact with her. His stupid innocent eyes staring into hers made her wonder if she really was mad at him. She knew she'd always love Bucky, even though he pointed a gun at her, but did she think she'd ever give in this easily? No, she was expecting at least 5 hours of a grudge, but no, his lost and confused, innocent blue eyes broke her. Even though her hand was in contact with his wound, she used that touch to pull him close to her, hoping that last pulse of pain would make up for her lack of stubbornness.
      Bucky acted quickly, throwing his right arm around her and holding her tight, not wanting to let go. He nuzzled his face in her neck and tried his best not to cry. Emilia noticed how he kept his left arm by his sighed, she reached out and took his hand placing it on her back.
      He shook his head as he dropped his bionic arm from their embrace, "No," he mumbled. "That's my weapon, and I almost killed you with it, I can't," he sighed looking down at the metal palm. Emilia placed her hand on it, and laced their fingers together, as awkward as metal fingers were she smiled.
      "That's who you are Buck, it's a part of you, and I love it. Plus," she paused before smirking, "it's pretty cool." Bucky leaned in to kiss her, there hands still intertwined in between them.
      "Ahem," Steve cleared his throat from the bedroom doorway, glancing at the two, rolling his eyes in the process. Emilia blushed shaking her head at the two of them as Bucky chuckled at Steve's childish grin.
      "Um, you guys can help yourselves to anything," Emilia stuttered standing up and heading to the bathroom. On her way she caught glimpse of a clock and cursed her natural ability for sleeping in. She sprinted to the bedroom throwing on clothes she could wear to the labs hoping her hair would be acceptable if she pulled it back. She grabbed her purse and ran past Bucky still seated on the couch and through the door yelling up to them as she left. "You guys rest up, I'll see you later."

      "Hate."
      "Riz," Emilia smiled as she walked past the reception desk toward the elevators, where the director was waiting for her. As nice as it was to have people in your life, Emilia was less than enthused about Riz being in hers. Sure she has been knocking on Death's door for the past couple months and should be grateful for every person she encountered, but he was just so damn intolerable. "Is Madi in yet?"
"Just arrived," Riz nodded, glancing toward the main doors.
"Look who slept in today," Emilia chuckled as Madi rolled her eyes.
"How did I know you'd say something like that," she laughed shaking her head.
The two women entered the elevator, nodding at Riz as the doors shut and they descended to the basement. Emilia glanced over at her friend, trying to remember the last time they had a normal conversation. "You got your hair cut?"
"It's that noticeable huh?" she asked running her hand through the pixie cut. "I just wanted it a tiny bit shorter than before and this is what I got."
"Well I bet Max loves it," Emilia smiled, letting her voice trail off as silence encroached their conversation, or what should've been a conversation. "I'm sorry I've been such a bitch lately," Emilia said quickly, putting the apology out there.
       "You, a bitch? Never," Madi laughed exaggerating the word never. The elevator door opened and the two walked out into the hallway as they made their way to Emilia's office to see what had to be completed in the labs. "Nah, you're not a bitch. You finally found a man that makes you happy, and things got extremely complicated. I get it."
      Emilia stared at Madi, remembering what their friendship meant to her. "Thanks Madi, I miss how understanding you are."
      "Yeah," Madi smiled grabbing a clipboard from Emilia's door to see what the labs came up with yesterday. "Looks like you have an appointment with Tyler Dan this morning," she smiled handing her a sticky note stuck to the front of the clipboard.
      "He's the one with the weird flashbacks right?" Emilia questioned taking the clipboard and walking to lab room three.
      "Yeah, I've been putting some thought into it, trying to figure it out, but the best I came up with was his family lived in Siberia or something, the way he goes on about the cold," Madi guessed following the doctor.

      While Emilia waited for her appointment with Tyler Dan, she helped technicians work on the drug 212, or what Madi's husband called it, the soon to be cure for cancer. Emilia didn't like it being referred as that though, because as of now the affects the drug had on the disease were minuscule and subsided minor symptoms, nothing 'curing' about it. Getting nowhere, Emilia sighed in frustration, exiting the lab, her co workers, deciding now was a good time to take a break as well. On her way to her office, Madi raced toward her, a look of urgency on her face.
      "Dr. Hate," she called out, "Tyler Dan has died."
      "What? What do you mean, how did this happen?" she asked as a million questions ran through her head. "He was just a kid."
      "I'm sorry Emilia," the assistant sighed putting off he last bit of information she knew.
      "What else is there? You're hiding something."
      "He was murdered."
      "Murdered?" Emilia asked unable to believe what she just heard. "No, he wasn't murdered, there is no way."
      "It was HYDRA," she whispered, watching the doctor closely.
      Emilia's mind was racing as she realized what this meant. Tyler Dan knew something they didn't want let out, her serum unlocked secrets SHIELD possibly doesn't even know. "I have to go," she muttered running past Madi, forgetting about all the work she had to do.