static | BUCKY BARNES

6

Bucky didn't even want to go on the mission, if he's being honest. Usually he would jump on any chance he could get to leave the tower and do some good for humanity, but not today. He just wants to talk to Static again, or to just be with her. There's something about her presence that just makes him feel less empty. HYDRA left him feeling like a shell of a man, but the hollow feeling disappeared when he was with Static. It's like she understood him without even understanding herself or what was going on.

But instead of being with the girl who makes his perpetual headache subside, he's sitting next to a sweaty Steve Rogers on a helicopter.

They just completed a last-minute mission that Nick Fury sent them on. The men were informed of some hostage situation S.W.A.T. was taking care of in Connecticut at a theater where a concert was taking place. A group of terrorists kept everyone in the theater at gunpoint. The authorities had everything under control until the terrorists started shooting; so, naturally, they contacted the Avengers. Most of their missions are bigger than a single terrorist attack, but Steve insisted Tony that they should help.

Once Steve and Bucky arrived to the theater in which the shooting was taking place, they took down the terrorists and handed them over to the police to bring them to justice. It was a simple and quick mission—in and out.

Evening dawns as Steve and Bucky's helicopter ride comes to an end. The pilot lands on the helipad on the roof of the tower smoothly, allowing the passengers to unbuckle as the landing skids lower to the surface.

"That wasn't so bad, now, was it?" Steve teases as the men hop off the helicopter onto the roof.

Bucky glances at Steve, walking ahead towards the door that leads to the inside of the tower. "I never said it wasn't going to be."

Steve hogs a few steps until he's in stride with his friend. He peels his gloves off his hands and shakes them out. "I know. You just didn't seem too enthusiastic about going on the mission, is all."

Bucky raises a brow. "Am I supposed to be enthusiastic about a terrorist attack?"

"That's not what I mean," Steve replies, then adds, "Jerk."

"Punk." The word slips past Bucky's lips without a second thought. He doesn't even realize what he's said, or why, until Steve's face breaks out into a grin.

"Just like old times, Buck." Steve sighs. "Just like old times."

⌖

Static is supposed to be sleeping. She's not, though; she's very much awake as she sits on the top of her sheets, examining her bedroom. It would be normal for a young woman to be interested in her sleeping quarters, but Static isn't exactly paying attention to how stylish her room is. She's playing around with her eyes.

She zooms in and out on different objects around the room. After a while of just that, she finds out that she has night vision. It's like there's a remote in her head that her brain is controlling. When she thinks hard enough and focuses hard enough, she can zoom or switch to night vision. It's all very strange to Static, but she secretly hopes there's still more she hasn't found out about her eyes' ability.

At 3:19 am, while Static is still testing out her vision, there are multiple sets of footsteps outside her door. She pauses and brings her eyes back into focus, glancing at her closed bedroom door. Shadows of passing feet pass under the sliver of a crack of the door. A muffled voice incoherently speaks at a hushed volume, and a different voice replies in the same tone so Static can't pick up on their exchange.