Girl At War

Battle - 21

Eloyse and the boys stared at her. Two looks of shock, one of confusion.

"Wait, what?" Eloyse cried. "I'm not anything!"

"You're an Empath. Able to sense emotions in others. Probably change them, too." Natasha stated matter-of-factly. Clint pounced.

"It was you!" He looked between the girls, "She said 'elated and curious'. That was you, not Barnes she was feeling."

"Yep." Nat smiled. Eloyse turned to Bucky, still rubbing his arm.

"Are you ok?"

"'M'fine. Just got no feelin' here."

"Can I help?"

Bucky hesitated a long moment before extending his arm. Eloyse gently touched where the nerve ran, thankful it wasn't his metal arm. She returned the feeling, and Bucky gasped.

"Oh, man! It tingles! Ow!"

Natasha and Clint outright laughed at the super-soldier whining about his arm tingling. Eloyse shyly grinned. On sudden inspiration, she put up a tiredness bar by each of them. Natasha was nearly full, as was Clint. Bucky was low, dangerously so. Eloyse tested him, faking a yawn. He also yawned. She grinned.

"Go take a rest, Bucky. Nobody wants a tired fighter on their side."

Bucky opened his mouth to protest, then shut it and slipped past all three of them to get to the hallway. Natasha grinned maliciously at Clint, then tagged after Bucky. The archer watched her with uneasy eyes. Eloyse smiled, all of a sudden enjoying her new power.

"Don't be scared," she smirked when Clint's eyes widened. "She probably won't kill you too badly."

Clint rolled his eyes. "For more serious matters," he began, and Eloyse clearly felt the mood shift. "Are you leaving soon?" 

Eloyse hesitated how to answer. "Not at the moment. I promised Steve I would stick around and help you guys for a little while. But..." she sighed. "Every hour I wait is another hour he gets farther away. You have all been so helpful and nice, and I'd like to stay, but I really should go."

Clint sank down on the floor, patting the spot beside. Eloyse sat. For a few minutes they were silent, just enjoying each other's companionship. Eloyse was revelling in her new power. She could faintly feel another emotion from somebody, a certain sadness. It had to be very strong for her to feel only it and not the rest of the group, unless that one person was closer. Clint spoke, and Eloyse redirected her attention on the archer.

"I think it's fine of you to go after your brother. You should do it. But not alone, that's more dangerous. You sparred with Nat and showed you can fight, but that's not the same. According to you, both you and your brother were already caught once by HYDRA. They'll jump at the chance to have you back, because you're already showing positive signs of their experimenting. That's the Empath that's showing up in you now. They'd love to continue those experiments. So I don't want you to go after your brother yet, not until the coast is clear."

"Why would you care if I got caught?" Eloyse's voice was tense. There was a long silence from the other side, and she could feel him considering. When he spoke, she wasn't ready for the confession.

"I love you." Clint's simple words took Eloyse's breath away. She turned, unable to see him in the dark, but his eager shyness could be felt. "I-I mean," he stumbled, "not like girlfriend-romance love. Nothing like that. More like big brother. Eloyse, listen. Please." He had heard her shifting away. "My wife and kids are at home, on Earth, and I miss them. I'm sure you miss your parents too, and to top it off, your brother is gone." He paused, struggling for words. "I love you like you are my own little sister, and I don't want you hurt. Please?"