Not Built for Peace

Ruby doesn't trust heroes.
Not after Hydra turned her into one.

On her eighteenth birthday, Ruby and her twin brother were taken, broken down, and rebuilt into weapons. Stronger, faster, harder to kill. Now, under the watch of the Avengers, they're supposed to be something else. Something better.

But healing isn't that simple.

Ruby keeps her distance from the team, from everything she used to be. Control is the only thing she has left, and she refuses to lose it again.

Then there's Bucky Barnes.

He doesn't ask questions. Doesn't push. Doesn't expect her to be okay.
Because he isn't either.
He knows what it's like to live with someone else's voice in your head. To wake up with blood on your hands and no memory of how it got there. To be called a weapon and to believe it.

And somehow... he sees her anyway.
What starts as silence turns into understanding. And understanding turns into something Ruby doesn't know how to face.
Because getting close means risking everything.

And for someone who survived Hydra, trust might be the most dangerous thing of all.