unordinary | BUCKY BARNES

chapter one

Being an Avenger meant being in the public eye a lot, you were either being praised by the media, or criticised, there was very rarely an inbetween. Of course when the media started reports it was all like 'the new girl' and 'new avenger? who could she be?' you know, all of the cringe headlines you see everywhere, but when people started to realise that you were going to be there more and more, the public gave you a 'superhero name'. You didn't consider yourself a superhero, you were far from it. But you understood that there was people out there that needed this, they needed hope. The avengers gave them that. When 'black cat' first came out on newspaper headlines you didn't know what to think of it, sometimes you hated that it was so similar to Natashas, you didn't want her to think you were trying to be her, but she had no problem with it considering it was the newspaper companies that created the name themselves. You weren't even a cat fan, but you dealt with it and it's now been adapted to your every day life.

Even the Avengers had adapted to it. Almost no one called you by your real name anymore, Nat did occasionally, but most of the time people had gotten used to calling you 'Cat'. It was a bit like the way everyone calls Steve 'Cap'.

You kind of liked it anyways, 'Cat' was almost a fresh start after everything that happened in your past, but it also came with a burden almost, like you are set out to be this person you don't know if you should be. You don't know if you deserve this name, this title... The Avengers title.

——

There where no planned missions for a week so that morning you decided to sleep in. You had left the window open overnight and due to sleeping near the top of a tower you felt the breeze hitting your face. Refreshing? Sure, but you were hoping to sleep a little later than 8am today. You roll over and lie on your front and try to go back to sleep, this time your face is shielded from the wind but this time it's something else keeping you awake. Thor's snoring.

At least someone is able to have a long lie.

Having your bedroom directly next to the God of Thunders was incredibly irritating at times, he snored loudly and sometimes went to sleep very late at night so the noise of him going to the toilet or pacing around the room trying to get ready for bed kept you awake. Normally you tried to remember to put in noise blocking earbuds before going to sleep, but the days when you forgot and then had to wake up early for a mission the next morning were extremely annoying, it meant you may only get one hour of sleep.

You wait another fifteen minutes, but of course Thor doesn't shut up. You let out a sigh and give up. You rub your eyes and slowly step out of bed. Opening the curtains you squint at the bright sunlight before taking in the view. You had been living in this room for about a year and you still weren't used to it. The New York skyline would never become boring. Even from so high up there was always something new to see every morning.

You walk towards the main kitchen where the Avengers hung out most mornings. You passed some electricians on the way, some people from the lab too. They just nodded in your direction with a quiet hello. Steve said you intimidated them, but you tried to be nice, just because your an Avenger doesn't mean you can't be human too, right?

"Cat, hey!"

Nat smiles at you. She's sitting with Steve eating a bowl of cereal while Cap has his nose stuck in a book about criminology.

"I thought you would have slept all day today" She teases.

"Well I was planning on it" You reply, while looking for food that hasn't already been eaten. A full packet of food here was very few and far between. Some of you hid your food so others wouldn't eat it, or some just adjusted to eating whatever the hell was there, in this case porridge. Of course it was the worst stuff left until last.

You use up the last of the porridge and stick it in the microwave to cook. You knew the proper way to cook it was on the stove but you didn't have enough energy for that today.

Once the microwave pings and you get your food, you walk over and sit opposite Steve and Nat, Steve had barley acknowledged you (he wasn't ignoring you he was just very interested in the book he was reading) whereas Nat was looking at you ready for a good conversation.

"Thor wouldn't shut the hell up." You complained, placing your bowl on the table so hard that some spilled over the sides.

"Wow someone's in a bad mood this morning." Nat laughed and took a bite out of a granola bar she had taken right from Steves hands, who had no idea.

Mornings in the tower (when there were no missions or assignments) were pretty laid back. Most people stayed here all day and didn't leave much to avoid the press and paparazzi. The last thing any of you needed was a small man in a suit with an oversized microphone jumping out asking 'who's dating who?' or 'is it true Tony Stark is dead?'

No you idiot. He literally posted a video of him floating in the overly expensive pool he installed last month on his instagram stories two hours ago.

No one was paying any attention to anyone else coming into the room. Sam walked in for a coffee and went back to his room. Wanda sat and turned on a documentary while eating pop tarts, and Bucky came in looking for food. He was dressed only in a vest styled shirt and shorts and his hair was a mess. He ran it through his fingers as he walked into the kitchen and scratched his head. That's what men do when they wake up apparently.

"Who the hell ate my porridge? Buy your own food." He growled and shoved the empty packet in the bin.

You roll your eyes and continue to eat spoonfuls of your breakfast.

Bucky walks passed and spots you eating and glares at you. If looks could kill- you would be dead, and it's all about breakfast food, and mutters.

"Fucking Cat, I should have known."

Oh yeah, there was one not so tiny detail I missed out. You and James Buchanan Barnes hated each other more than anything else on this planet.