Winter Interrupted

Interrupted

Becoming an Avenger had happened almost by accident; it definitely wasn't the plan to make you into one of Earth's mightiest heroes when Nick Fury had pulled you from the ranks of Hydra to work for him. Your former bosses had made into one of Earth's mightiest assassins, so your skill set was already pretty solid, to say the least. It was so solid, in fact, that there was only one person he trusted enough to take you under their wing, and only one person who would even be willing; Natasha Romanoff.

You had joined the group right after the Battle of New York, once Tony caught a glimpse of you in action on the streets, fighting at their side without having even been called in. With every pass he had flown overhead, he would see you doing something that left him speechless, which was a feat that Nick appreciated more than the rest of your new team. Tony had watched you take on a group of no less than ten Chitauri alone, only to make quick work of them before taking on a group equally as large without missing a beat. If he hadn't have had to deal with that pesky nuclear missile, he would have approached you before you had a chance to run off without being seen by anyone else. Much to his relief, Nick knew every move you ever made, and he had brought you into the team at Tony's urging with deaf ears meeting your continued arguments against the idea.

Nat had taken you out of the country to work together for a while, dragging Clint along for the ride; the man had a penchant for getting bored, which only led to trouble, so she figured an extra set of hands would only get the work done faster. That was how you came to trust them, when you realized that their intentions actually were good. Your days with Hydra left you riddled with inhibitions and a severe lack of trust in anyone who came close to finding interest in you. In fact, it had taken Nick years to gain your favor, but in the matter of months, these two broke through your wariness. It wouldn't take long for the rest of the team to follow behind, though even with your new artificial family, you kept to yourself for the most part, finding much more comfort in solitude than in team building.

But that was about to become more prevalent than ever before, in a wave of unexpected fear, remorse, exhilaration, and sadness that you never expected. In all actuality, you had no reason to, as the memories that were about to slam your mind had been buried so deep that no one would have known they could ever be found; not even those who had forced them into darkness.

"(Y/N)," Steve approached almost hesitantly, "this is Bucky Barnes. Buck, this is (Y/N)."

"Pleasure, ma'am," he offered, his hand extended to you. You took it willingly, despite the sound of your own voice echoing in your head, screaming for you to stop before it went to a place that you couldn't be protected from. When your skin made contact with his, you immediately knew that you had made a mistake and yanked it away.

"Nice to meet you, but I...I have to go," you gasped, turning and all but sprinting for the stairwell door. It left everyone in the room standing silent and confused, looking to each other for explanation, but none more than the team's newest member, and when Steve began to support your apology, Bucky hadn't heard a word of it as he watched you leave.

"Wow, Barnes," Clint scoffed, "you have a way with the ladies just like Cap."

~~~

After locking yourself away in your room, you knew that Nat wouldn't be far behind to see if you were alright, and as much as you wanted her help and comfort, you couldn't place what you were feeling to begin to tell her anyway. You had been left somewhere between panic and nausea, with a side of adrenaline that left you yearning to run, to anywhere. Whoever this guy was, something in your locked away history knew him, or thought that it did, and you were trying to decide if it was worth pursuing the answer or pursuing the easy way out. When the knock on your door finally came, you laughed quietly at the idea that anything could ever be easy.