girl ― saved by captain america

[thirty] the sokovia accords

[Steve]

Slowly rolling open the bottom drawer of my dresser, I sort through until I find a pair of clean black jeans. I've already peeled off the old bottoms and washed off my skin with a wet rag pumped with soap. Sighing, I lean against the dresser slightly as I slide the new pants on. Then, I slide the drawer closed with my foot, glancing up at myself in the mirror.

I look tired, probably more tired than I actually feel. It's been a long day, to say the least. To be honest, I'm surprised that everything was resolved so quickly. I wasn't too sure at all when Bucky decided that he would take over, but I guess he knew what he was doing. Poor little Willa was terrified; I never wanted to put her through any of that. It was important that she faced her fears in regards to Bucky to rekindle their relationship, but when it became so much that she actually wet herself from fear, I was seriously considering putting a cap on the whole situation.

I guess I'm just thankful it all seemed to work out in the end.

Not wanting to leave the two alone for too long in case Willa needs anything, I make sure to waste no time in getting back out of my room and down the hall. I can hear Bucky talking as I enter the living space, his tone slightly raised and softened to accommodate the young child he's with. He stands in the kitchen over a pot of something that's steaming; Willa sits near him on the counter, listening to the man intently. "I've never been much of a cook myself; Steve can tell you that. I've gotten better, though, ever since I was rescued and started living on my own. Hopefully this doesn't turn out too bad," Buck chuckles.

"What're you guys making?" I ask as I walk over to join the two. Willa lifts her head a little bit when she hears my voice, and I smile at her. Bucky turns to me and gestures to the pot.

"I thought we could make some soup. I saw chicken and veggies in your fridge," he explains.

Shifting over to Willa, I offer a nod, fine with the idea. The child tenses as I near her and looks up at me, her eyes wide. "I'm s-sorry," she apologizes quickly, "I didn't mean t-to, won't do it again; I'm sorry."

"It's okay, sweetheart. I know you were scared," I tell her reassuringly. Though the girl still seems uneasy, she says no more about it. "I'm gonna make something separate for her, since she's still transitioning from her restricted intake at Hydra," I explain to Bucky as I go into the fridge, retrieving the ingredients needed to make a smoothie. The brown-haired man nods, a hint of sadness in his eyes as he looks over the child in front of him.

Pulling out the blender from the cabinet above the sink, as well as a cutting board and a knife, I cut up the fruit, throwing it in the blender along with some protein powder, supplements, and yogurt. "Big noise," Willa tells Bucky, a warning she's gotten in the habit of giving everyone before Bruce or I turn on the blender. Buck and I both smile at her adorableness, and my friend nods at her.

"Okay, dove. Thanks for letting me know," he plays along. Pressing down on the power button, the machine whirs to life as I glance over at Willa to see her covering her ears slightly. Just as I'm turning the blender off again, once the mixture is smooth, my phone vibrates. I pull it out of my pocket to read the screen. It's a text from Tony in the team's group chat.

Tony: Team meeting in 10, 50th flr- mandatory.

I raise my eyebrows at the text, wondering what it means. It's not often that we call group meetings, especially only ten minutes in advance. "Hey Buck, Tony's calling a meeting here in ten," I inform him slowly. The man nods. "I don't know what it's about, but you and Willa can always go hang out on the balcony or something if it's something he doesn't want you listening in on."

"Sounds good to me," Buck replies as I turn to take out a clean cup from a cabinet and pour the smoothie into it, handing it to Willa.

"Thank'ou," she cheers sweetly, bringing the cup to her mouth and taking a sip. When she lowers it back down, a thin line of the smoothie has formed on the precious child's upper lip.