The Newest Avenger ❤️

Chapter 2

Anna wakes up in the middle of the night a few months after moving into the compound into the only free room beside Bucky's. She still had nightmares often from her time in the Red Room; hence why Tony insisted she continues therapy. She makes her way down to the kitchen and finds some leftover pasta in the fridge and turns to sit down at the counter when she sees him. He's sitting in the dark. "You scared the fuck out of me Bucky."

Bucky watches Anna walk into the kitchen, wondering why she couldn't sleep. He watches her long lean legs under the oversized t-shirt she wore. He found himself wanting to run his fingers along the soft skin of her thighs. He chuckles when she turns around to notice him there. "Sorry doll," he mumbles, standing up to walk away as he hears her shout behind him.

"Next time make yourself known. And don't call me doll!" She sighs as he only continues to walk away down the hallway. She hated it when he called her doll. She never heard him call any of the other women around the compound doll. She couldn't help but find it condescending.

***

Anna ends up falling asleep on the couch, jostled awake in the morning by someone shaking her. She acts before thinking in her sleepy, disoriented state, grabbing the hand on her shoulder as she throws the person to the ground in front of the couch.

"What the fuck?"

She sits up, opening her eyes to find Bucky on the floor in front of her. She stands up from the couch to find the others staring at her from behind the couch and she feels her eyes welling with tears, embarrassment filling her. "Sorry, Bucky," she mumbles out before rushing away to her room so no one could see her cry. She hears a knock on the door as she sits on the edge of the bed, her face hiding behind her face. "Go away!"

Steve doesn't listen to her, entering the room anyway and shutting the door behind him. "Are you okay, Anna?" He takes the spot next to her on the bed as she looks away.

"I'm fine Steve, please just go." She feels him grab her hand as she looks down at her hand and back up at him. He isn't afraid of her because he knows her. He understands her. She thinks she even sees something else in those blue-green eyes of his, but she isn't sure. "I'm fine Steve. I'm sorry about Bucky, I'll apologize to him. Everyone is probably afraid of me now huh?"

Steve sighs as she looks away from him, but he doesn't let go of her hand. "They aren't afraid of you Anna; they just don't know you. It will be okay. And as for Bucky, well he probably will understand the best out of all of them. You don't have to always hide out in your room." He reaches over and places his hand gently on her cheek to make her look at him, and she feels the electricity from his touch as he stares intensely into her eyes. "You don't have to shut people out Anna."

She grabs his hand to remove it from her cheek. "Is this coming from my friend or my boss?"

Steve laughs as he watches her stand up in front of him. "I'm never your boss. But I'm always your friend."

She begins to pace before he stands up and she turns to look back at him. "Thanks, Steve, really."

He stands up and hesitates for a moment, wanting to say more. But he just nods and walks away. Outside her door, Steve pauses for a minute. He had grown to have feelings for Anna but couldn't bring himself to tell her. He knows he should be happy with Sharon, but he wasn't. He wanted to tell Anna how much he wanted her, how much he thought about her. How he imagined what it would feel like to feel her lips on his, to feel her body on his, but he knew he couldn't.

***

Later that night, Anna finally works up the courage to leave her room to confront Bucky as she approaches and knocks on his door.

"Come in," she hears softly from behind the door as she takes a deep breath.

She walks in and finds Bucky lying on the ground with a blanket without a shirt. Her eyes catch on the military tags on his chest, the strong muscles of his shoulders and back. He watches her checking him out again, her eyes on his chest.

"Can I help you, doll?" He asks, partly amused, but mostly annoyed at her interruption.

His voice forces her attention back to his face as she blushes. "Oh, um, I just wanted to apologize for earlier. I'm sorry if I hurt you."

Bucky stands up and closes the gap between them, standing a foot away as he watches her swallow hard. "You can't hurt me, doll." As continues to walk closer to her as she backs up until she is out of his room, standing confused in the hallway. He smirks at her and closes the door in her face. He wanted her to stay, to join him in his bed, to feel her hands on him. But he knew that wasn't a good idea. She was Stark's daughter, and Bucky's relationship with him was already shaky at best. And there was obviously something else going on with her, seeing as how she was in therapy as well.

***

The next morning Anna is in the training room sparring with Steve. Just as she thinks she has him, he smirks and overpowers her, flipping her onto the mat with him on top of her, straddling her. They both pant, out of breath as she feels the awkward tension between them. She wanted him to notice her, to see her. As an adult, as a woman.

Steve hovers longer than he knows he should, but Anna doesn't seem to mind. He brings his hand to her cheek. He leans down toward her until they hear someone clear their throat, looking up to find Bucky and Sharon standing in the doorway.

Anna notices the angry look on Sharon's face, Bucky only looking amused as she pushes Steve. "Get off me. You win." She stands up and walks past Sharon and Bucky, smiling at Sharon. "Hi, Sharon." Anna doesn't wait for a response, but she is pretty sure she hears 'bitch' as she walks away. As she makes it to the kitchen, she sees the familiar blonde hair. "Yelena?"

The woman turns around with a giant smile on her face. "Tatianna!" She wraps Anna in a hug. Yelena was a couple of years older than her in the Red Room and she always tried her best to protect Anna when she could. After Natasha and Steve brought down the Red Room, Yelena stayed back to help the other widows find places to go and settle down.

Anna pulls away from Yelena with a smile on her face until she sees Yelena's expression change into something more somber. "What are you doing here?"

"I need to talk to you and Natasha, and maybe Steve?" She points to Steve as he walks into the kitchen followed by an annoyed Sharon.

"Why do you only need them? If it's a mission, shouldn't we all hear about it?"

Yelena looks at Steve and shakes her head as he turns to Sharon, bringing his hand up. "Just wait here." He leads Natasha, Yelena, and Anna into the conference room and shuts the door softly. "What's up, Yelena?"

Yelena looks around the room with a worried expression. "I have received intel that Hydra may be trying to reenact their own version of the Red Room." She looks at Anna as she continues as she looks down at the table. "We aren't really sure where though. We have a few leads. I thought if we split up that we could find more information."

Everything kind of goes quiet in the room for Anna as her head buzzes. She is brought back by Steve grabbing her hand. "You don't have to do this; Nat and I can go."

Anna shakes her head adamantly. "No, I'll be fine. I want to go. We need more people though."

Steve nods and releases her hand with a sigh. "I'll talk to Buck."

Anna grabs Steve's arm as he turns to walk away from her. "I don't want him to know about me, Steve. I don't want any of them to. I don't need their pity."

Steve turns back to face Anna as she stands up and puts his hand on her cheek with a small smile. "None of us pity you. And don't worry, I won't tell him. It's your choice to tell whom you want when you want." Steve leaves the room, returning with Bucky as he fills him in on the situation.

"Okay, what do you need from me?"

Yelena speaks up before anyone else can, standing up from her seat. "Bucky you go with Anna, and Steve you go with Natasha. I will send you the coordinates."

Anna stands up and is about to argue but Bucky grabs her hand before she can say anything. "Come on, doll. It'll be fun to work together."

Anna pulls her hand away, annoyed, and starts to walk out of the room ahead of everyone. "Don't call me doll!"