Secret Santa One Shot Exchange 2016

A New Normal

"You are such a beautiful human being inside and out! Happy holidays, I hope that you make the most out of every day of your life darling!"

That's skywalker2018's message for purplecatgirl24! This fic is amazing and had me giggling towards the end! Excellent job!

----

Normal: the usual, average, or typical state or condition

Normal. 

That word, that one simple word, means something different to each person. 

Normal could be taking the subway every morning at 8:00 sharp. It can be making the dreaded coffee run for your work office when a big project is given. My normal once consisted of living and working with earth's mightiest heroes, the Avengers. 

Every morning I would wake up to Vision knocking on the door, making his wake-up rounds. I would groggily shuffle my way into the kitchen, following the smell of Natasha's freshly-brewed coffee. Slumping down into a chair, I would drop my head onto the table and refuse to move until Wanda placed food in front of me. Sam and Rhodey, or the boys as I have taken to calling them, would come flying through the balcony window, still in their suits from their morning flight. A few minutes later, in would walk Steve Rodgers, Captain America. He was my idol ever since childhood. My great-uncle, James Montgomery Falsworth, had been a Howling Commando under Steve. His stories of their adventures have been passed down through the family. When they reached me, I was instantly fascinated by the super-soldier. 

Needless to say when I found out that S.H.I.E.L.D. had unfrozen Steve, I rushed at the opportunity to join the agency in any way possible (Oh, my name's Holly, by the way). As an assassin, I became very close to both Natasha Romanoff, also known as Black Widow, and Clint Barton, also known as Hawkeye. They sort of became parents to me, as mine wanted nothing to do with me once they found out my profession. Hanging out with them meant befriending the Avengers, which led to my crush on the Captain deepening, and after a few years of us being very close he admitted he felt the same way about me. Since then we have been "unofficially official", as Wanda calls it—we know the feeling is mutual and we interact sort of like a couple, but no other real moves have been made since we are both too shy to do anything.

That was my normal, but ever since Secretary Ross brought us the Sokovia Accords, I honestly have no idea what normal even is anymore. I can understand where Ross is coming from on the issue, but Steve just won't even consider letting the government tell the Avengers what to do and when to do it. His stubbornness about this has created a rift in our friendship-relationship-whatever it is, and I'm not too sure that it can be fixed. Even so, I love him, so if it comes down to a fight I will side with him...and it did come down to that. After Peggy Carter's funeral, Steve, Sam, Sharon and I go hang out in a hotel room for a bit. The news channel on the TV sends in a report about an explosion that happened in Vienna, the same place where the ratification meeting was being held for the Accords. A picture flashes on the screen of the man who planted the bomb. My breath catches in my throat and Steve visibly tenses up—the man in the photo is my other idol and Steve's best friend, James "Bucky" Buchanan Barnes.

Steve immediately grabs his stuff, ready to jump on the next plane headed for Vienna. Sam and I try to stop him, but he is relentless, so we only agree to let him go if we go with him. After much convincing, he agrees and we all run to the airport and board a plane. Once we arrive in Vienna, we see newspapers with Bucky's face on the front page. We know we are trying to outrun the GSG9 military force, so Steve leads us to Bucky's apartment, thinking that will be the most likely location of the Winter Soldier. 

As we enter the shabby apartment, I am absolutely blown away. Both of my childhood idols are standing in the same room as me...and they are both smokin' hot! I had seen pictures of the well-groomed, uniformed James Barnes, and thought that he was very attractive; I had no idea the long-haired, unkempt rogue that Natasha had told me stories of would be so fascinating. Enough daydreaming, back to the present! While I had been admiring the Soldier, he and Steve had been running from the Black Panther, also known as Prince T'Challa of Wakanda. They were all eventually caught and whisked away to who-knows-where in S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters; I am not allowed to be near any of them. 

All of a sudden, there is a huge commotion around HQ. Someone had broken into Bucky's cell and triggered his Winter Soldier side. He will fight and kill anyone he comes in contact with, so I immediately seek out Cap. I find him and Iron Man already battling the Soldier, and stay in the shadows in case I need to step in. Luckily, Cap calms him down and starts running to make an escape with his best friend; I stubbornly tag along. During our brief time hiding and preparing for the final battle against Tony's side, Bucky and I connect and I fall in love hard and fast. He told me that I'm his "girl next door", but I just don't see it. I am waaayy too clumsy to be supermodel-status pretty.

But he insists on telling me how naturally gorgeous I am inside and out, so maybe I just don't allow myself to see it. Oh boy, what have I gotten myself into, loving my two idols?! Especially since we are all about to go out and fight, possibly to the death...

Somewhere in the chaos of fighting, I lose sight of Steve, Bucky, and Tony...not a good sign. I continue dueling Spiderman (I have no idea why or how he is here, but whatever), and after a while I hear a lot of noise over the transceiver. The three missing men were somewhere in Siberia, and it sounded like Cap and Bucky were whooping Iron Man's butt. I can't handle this, knowing that my two loves and former friend were attempting to kill each other. Hawkeye sees my distress and tells me to sit out of the fight, that I am in no stable condition of mind to make proper judgments, so I find a place in the hangars to curl up and bawl. After that, I don't remember anything, I lost myself to a deep sleep...

~Timeskip via Civil War feels~

It has been a few weeks since that final battle, and T'Challa has graciously offered our team of rogues a safe haven in Wakanda. Bucky has firmly commanded that we put him back into cryogenic sleep until a cure for his Soldier side can be found. It breaks my heart to let my idol and love go so soon. Steve and I are prepping Bucky and the cryogenic chamber, trying to spend as much time together as possible before the inevitable. 

Just before Bucky goes under, he cracks a joke about him, Steve, and I having a threesome when he resurfaces... this causes Steve and I to blush; we have both already secretly imagined such a scenario. As time goes on, Bucky's absence gives Steve and I time to reconnect and work through our problems. Even though we still don't see completely eye to eye, there is an understanding between the two of us that will only make us stronger together. 

Life begins a new normal, and though I have lost many friends, I have decided that that is okay.