𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕊𝕦𝕟 𝕚𝕤 𝔾𝕖𝕥𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕃𝕠𝕨𝕖𝕣- completed but editing

Chapter 28

Once, only once, I walked in on a scene between Tony and Pepper in the rec room at my house. I was scarred for life. That was the only time in my life that Evelyn had alerted me that my pulse was too high.

Until today.

Bucky instinctively pulled me behind him, gun ready.

But he didn't need it.

They weren't shooting at us.

My thin cloud was out, cupped in my palm. "Showtime."

I honestly had no idea how to get the Aether to do its thing but my cloud seemed to. It covered the Aether and just stayed there, waiting for my command.

"Ready?" Bucky asked, his voice husky.

A shiver went down my spine. "Ready. Let's end this."

I blew on my cloud and the symbol. Purple and red, mixed together, burst from my palm. "Evelyn, pull up the security feed inside of the helicarrier that Steve's in."

"Right away, miss."

Bucky gave me a strange look but he smiled when I turned and looked at him.

Ev pulled up a feed that I projected from my AI bracelet. There was Bucky, standing across from Steve. But it wasn't Bucky.

"I don't want to hurt Steve too badly so "you" only have handguns."

Bucky nodded. "Will he fight like me?"

"I don't know." I sat down on the edge with my legs dangling off the side. "I've never done this before."

Bucky sat down next to me, a foot between us. "Wait, what?"

"I've never done this before."

He looked surprised. "Wow."

"Yep," I smiled. "But it will work out. I promise."

"I haven't said this in awhile but, I trust you."

A stampede of stomach butterflies erupted in my gut.

Illusion Bucky was already fighting Steve. The illusion was so deep, it was hard to wrap my brain around.

If I ever saw Thor again, I wanted to ask him about the Aether.

"Hey, Li Anne?" Bucky asked.

"Yeah?"

"Will the illusion me prevent Steve from stopping Hydra?"

"No, I know what Steve is trying to do. My director told me the same plan before I joined Steve and Nat yesterday. Even if he doesn't make it, I can do it."

Bucky let out a sigh of relief. "Ok, good."

In a still moment, he moved a little bit closer to me. I moved a little bit closer to him. We looked at each at the same time and we busted out laughing.

I was sitting on Bucky's right side. He was too worried about his arm hurting me. We closed up the space between us and he put his arm around my shoulder.

With my head on his shoulder, we watched the illusion fight Steve in the helicarrier above us. The fight had turned into a knife fight over the microchip that shut down the carrier.

"Li Anne?"

"Yeah?"

"Do I really fight like that? Like all deadly and quiet?"

"That's how the Winter Soldier fights. I've noticed Bucky fights loudly, and only when he has to because he knows what he has to do."

That one moment was everything. The all or nothing moment.

The cool metal of his arm brushed my chin and gently lifted it upward.

All I could feel was his lips. Gentle at first, barely touching mine but then firm, our energies mending together. My hand rested on his neck, buried in his hair and his hands cupped my face, giving us a better angle.

And then I knew. I didn't care what sacrifices I had to make or what I had to do. He was mine. He was all I wanted.

When we broke apart for breath, our faces inches from each other, I spoke up.

"Bucky?"

"Yeah?"

"Is this real?"

"Yeah," he breathed quietly.

Then he dove on me again, my back arched, held in place by his arm. Mouth against mouth, running together.

I just wanted to touch him. Taste him. Feel him. Know his heart.

And with my cloud inside his head, I knew he felt the exact same way.