My Forbidden Soldier

VIII

You had never explored the outside surroundings of the compound. Honestly, you needed some fresh air and time alone outside of your room. You could tell that Tony had put a lot of effort into the outside of his property, even though it was private. It was very serene, you decided to go off the path and wander around, truly exploring the property and all its beauty. It was a gorgeous spring day; not too hot but not too cold. The trees and plants were all in full bloom. You could tell that outside of the garden and forest, that multiple people train out here.

You started walking through the woods, making a path of your own. You made sure not to get lost or stray too far away from the base. You took time to admire the sounds of nature all around you; from the birds chirping to squirrels jumping from tree to tree. To your knowledge, it was just you, alone in the woods. You had always been one to stay off the beaten track. It was a saying that you took from your grandmother, or as you called her, Gran. before she died.

In the passing months, your thoughts regarding your family had faded. It's not that you had better things to think of or pass the time, you just didn't feel like lingering on a sad topic when everyone around you was so at peace with their life, well maybe everyone except Bucky. It seemed since meeting him at the party; come to think of it you were thinking more and more of him. Not in a good way though, you assured yourself. You just wondered why Bucky would have a reason to dislike you. Steve had explained that he was like that with most people and that he only trusted one person. You shrugged it off and kept walking.

Suddenly, your head started pounding like never before. It felt like a really bad migraine, but without all the light sensitivity, floaters, etc. It felt like a million knives were being stabbed into your head. You fell on your knees and grabbed your head to try and relieve some of the pain. It hurt so much, and the worst part was, you were in the middle of the woods. Alone.

***

Earlier, at the compound, Steve had just left the meeting. The rest of his day had been cleared, there were no upcoming missions, and he knew you were going on an afternoon walk. He went to the gym, knowing his best friend would be working out. As soon as he opened the door Bucky stopped boxing and looked to Steve, who had a big smile on his face.

"Well, just got finished signing the papers. She's officially my fake girlfriend," he laughed.

"Oh, that's good," Bucky said sarcastically.

"Buck, why are you acting like this?"

"She can't be trusted. I mean, I think her intentions are pretty clear, get shit faced drunk and fuck Captain America,"

"First of all, we haven't done anything," Steve blushed slightly as he was trying to prove his point but by then Bucky had already started boxing again. "You don't even know her. She didn't want to come to the compound originally, and it took some coaxing to get her to agree. I think- The rest of the team thinks that she is a great fit fo-," he was interrupted.

"Steve, Y/N's in trouble. I can feel it," Wanda came rushing through the gym door to alert the boys. "I- I told you two my suspicions earlier. How I have been sensing unnatural things, but she's in pain right now. We have to find her!"

All three of them ran outside, and with the help of Wanda, they were able to find you quickly. You were still on the ground, you swore you could hear them sprinting from a mile away. You opened your eyes and it felt in that moment as if all your senses were on overdrive. You got up and turned around to see Wanda, Steve, and Bucky. They all looked very concerned, even Bucky. They slowly moved toward you, asking if you were okay. You saw Wanda's eyes glow red for a moment, and then everything went back to normal, no headache, no weird vision, all your senses were fine. Although, you were very freaked out. Steve and Wanda inched close enough to you and helped calm you down. You couldn't miss the look they gave each other though, something was wrong.

After checking you over physically, Bucky finally spoke up and asked if we needed to take you to the medical bay. You insisted that it was just a migraine, even though the four of you knew better. You managed to start walking in the direction of the compound. Before you could make it too far, Bucky grabbed your shoulder. "Come on you're going to med-," You looked at him and he stiffened his grip on your shoulder. "What the hell," Bucky said as he tried to keep it cool. He saw your eyes glowing golden in color.

"What?" the rest of the group said in unison.

"Her eyes, look?" he questioned.

As soon as you looked back at him, the discoloration had disappeared. You'd felt nothing as your eyes had supposedly glowed.

"I'm fine, I don't know what the fuck you're going on about James. What's with the sudden interest in talking, hmmm?" you said. Somehow a sudden ping of rage hit you. You balled your fist up beside your leg, making eye contact with Bucky. He looked at the fist and then up to you and shook his head. You released you would not last if you went up against the Winter Soldier. You looked up to him once more and scowled, you waited for Steve and Wanda to catch up to you. Both of them had witnessed the exchange in front of them.

"Y/N, you need to go and at least get checked out. Maybe Dr. Cho could prescribe some headache medicine?" Wanda said calmly as she approached you. She knew what was going on, and she knew you needed to get help before the pain becomes too much.

You continued walking alone before Steve came beside you and talked you into seeing a doctor, just for the headache. By now it was getting darker outside, possibly a spring storm. You finally made it to the compound and reluctantly visited Dr. Cho.

The doctor put you in a private room, but not before Wanda, Steve, and Bucky asked to speak with her outside. The private area was nice, you could tell Tony hired designers to decorate even the medical center. There were Avenger logo accents everywhere you looked. You had just realized though that the headache (or whatever it was) drained your energy. You tried not to doze off while everyone else was in the hallway.

***

"Her eyes, they were glowing golden. Almost like Wanda's do when she uses her powers. As soon as I did a double-take it was gone," Bucky said outside the room.

"We'll need to run tests, but we have to be cautious, we need to keep her relaxed. She needs to be monitored. Mr. Rogers, you need to keep an eye on her," the doctor warned.

"I think she's under the impression that it was just a bad headache, the only reason she came here was to get some pain medicine. I originally notified Steve and Bucky because I could feel Y/N's pain from my room and she was in the woods,"

The doctor nodded and left to get Tony and Bruce while Wanda, Steve, and Bucky went back to your room. Even though they weren't outside long, you still managed to nod off.