The North Star (B. Barnes & S. Rogers)

Chapter Five

Thor walks alongside Bucky as they head through the halls towards the exit. Behind them Loki and North followed by Pietro, Wanda, Clint and Sam. Ahead of them Steve and Natasha walk together taking the lead. Thor glances to Bucky and then away again, before looking back.

"What?" Bucky asks.

"You know Loki can't actually read your mind, right?" Thor asks Bucky who frowns at him.

"What?" Bucky asks. "But he said..."

"She must have been thinking about you" Thor offers. "Eirlys; she's the only mind Loki can read and vice versa" Bucky turns and looks back at North. "But you must have been thinking about her too" Thor adds slyly as he side glances at Bucky. "For you to get so defensive"

"Pretty sure, at that moment, everyone was thinking about her" Bucky defends, Thor raises an eyebrow and then watches Bucky flee to walk with Steve instead. Thor turns and glances back at his sister who is listening to Loki talk to her as he walks at her side.

...............

It's too easy, till it's not. They round a corridor and come to find a small battalion waiting for them. Steve stands at the front, thinking, plotting, planning, they don't make a move, just sort of watch them. Neither side willing just yet to make the first move. North makes the choice for them, she pushes Loki aside and storms forward through the others, weaving through them to stand at the front next to Steve, he glances to her and she growls back at him, they share a look before he readies his shield, Steve nods at her and North presses her palm to the wall next to her, concentrating, ice begins the spread along towards the Hydra agents, the runes on the collar around her neck start to glow, she cries out a little as the collar shocks her, warming her to stop, she doesn't, she pushes harder and the collar reacts. She jerks where she stands, her powers shorting before stopping, she slides down the wall and closes her eyes, Loki is suddenly there picking her up as her body suffers through the after tremors of the collar's shock.

"We have to find another way out" Steve states staring at the ice wall ahead of them, he glances to North before tuning and walking through the other Avengers, Bucky glances to North and Loki as Thor joins them taking North from Loki. As they start to leave the corridor another force approaches, heavily armed and ready. Thor looks down at North worried as she pushes at his chest, he sets her on her feet and she grabs to his arm to stay steady on her feet. Then it breaks out, Hydra and the Avengers clash in force.

.........

North ends up on her knees at some point, exhausted, wounded and wanting to just....give up. The hydra agent stood over her goes down as she thrusts an ice shard into his chest, she slumps slightly where she is and sets her head back. Around her it's a mess of powers and bullets as the Avengers continue to fight. The space too small, too confined for them to be effective. North looks from a Hydra agent to his target, rifle set on his shoulder ready to shoot at Bucky who stands with his back to his attacker as he takes down another agent with a blade, North pushes herself up and across the floor, her lack of energy be damned.

.................

Undetermined time ago:

North stands looking out over the view from the facility, her hands clasped around her back. She feels him before she sees him, his presence is always thick and there. She turns from the window to the figure lingering behind her. The Winter Soldier. He's not showered, still covered in blood from his latest mission, his suit still in place, but he knows she doesn't care about that, he knows she likes to take care of him. So he lets her. She moves to him and touches the clasp of his suit before she starts to undo them, neither says a word as she works on undressing him, but his eyes trace over her face, no muzzle, no hood. She's beautiful. Pale skin, green eyes, dark hair. He reaches up with his flesh hand and ghosts his knuckles across her cheek before moving his hand around to cup it. She's the only thing he's allowed to freely touch. She pushes his jacket off of his shoulders and gives him a look, he has to stop touching her so she can get it all the way off. But he doesn't want to stop. He pulls his metal arm free first and then places that on her neck, releasing his human hand from her to shake it free of his jacket, they both let it drop to the floor. Her eyes meet his, his show more then hers. There is too much emotion in his eyes, there shouldn't be any at all. And she knows she should tell her handlers about it. She should tell them that he is feeling. But she won't. He pulls her closer, threading his fingers into her hair before he kisses her, both melt into it. Human contact. They both crave it. Starve for it.

............

Present: 

North shoves at Bucky, sending him flying across the floor, just before the bullet meant for him impacts her shoulder, she cries out behind her muzzle. Bucky looks up surprised that she'd just done that for him, after everything she did that....for him. She reaches into the wound, her fingers touching the bullet before she gets it between her fingers and screams pulling it from her arm. Thor is moving towards her now, barrelling through anyone who gets in the way to reach his little sister. She looks across at Bucky who is staring at her. She turns away first and closes her eyes. Thor yanks her up over his shoulder a little and turns to pull her down into cover shielding her from the shower of bullets, she shoves him off of her and covers her wound with her hand. She growls a little, frustrated more then in pain or anger. She's not used to working as part of a team effort thing and they are just getting in her way.