One and the Same (Loki Fanfic)

Chapter 2: How We Met

Chapter 2: How We Met

*FOUR YEARS AFTER JOINING THE AVENGERS*

Taylor swore as she was slammed onto the floor-again. She'd been an Avenger for three years now, lost count of how many missions she'd been on, been fully integrated into the team, and still, still Bucky Barnes kicked her ass like nobody else could. In fact, the smug bastard was grinning upside-down at her cheekily at that very moment, while she glared at the ceiling in frustration as they finished yet another round of sparring.

"Ah, c'mon doll, you almost had me that time," he chuckled.

"Oh sure," she snorted, accepting the hand he extended her, "and I just so happen to love cold weather as well."

He laughed at her dry humor, completely used to it after two years. The day Taylor Cadence didn't have a witty comeback to some joke or tease was the day the world would end, Bucky was sure of it. The girl was kind and gentle, but she had a fiery personality beneath the sweet exterior (it suited her, he supposed, with her powers and all) and he was lucky enough to be one of the few that got to see it.

After almost two months of avoiding SHIELD, HYDRA, and Steve, Bucky had finally recovered over half his memories and his "Winter Soldier" incidents had become less frequent. Because of this, he'd returned to New York to seek out his long lost friend and hopefully get the last of the help he needed. Of course, he'd discovered much more than help upon his semi-triumphant return.

Once the initial shock had worn off and SHIELD had released Bucky from custody (it only lasted a couple weeks), Tony Stark had offered the ex-HYDRA agent a place on the team and a bed to sleep in. Within the first couple days or so, Bucky had met Taylor. She was the one most often around the tower, since she had college to focus on, apart from missions.

At first, their friendship had been rocky. She'd still been rather shy and timid around most people, not just him, although he had scared her once (she'd accidentally snuck up on him and he'd reacted on instinct). Bucky, for his part, had been concerned he'd relapse into "Winter Soldier" mode in the new place, with the new people. After a several movie nights with Steve chaperoning as a buffer, and a couple quiet days spent in each other's company, they'd become fast friends.

It helped that she was safe from him if he did happen to relapse for some reason or another. Her powers could make her skin so hot no one could touch her, and even if he managed to get his hands on a weapon, it would melt on contact. Apart from being virtually untouchable in an emergency, they shared a similar past-or at least an understanding of one another. Taylor may not have been experimented on and put in a freezer for months to years on end, but she knew what it was like to be abused and treated like a monster; she could empathize with self-loathing and numbness to everything.

Now the two were perfectly comfortable in each other's company. He wasn't interested in her romantically-nor her towards him, even though they were often teased by the others-since he was still hesitant at the thought of getting that intimate with anyone, but they spent a lot of their time together. He thought of her more like a friend/sister-like Steve. Actually, almost all of the Avengers saw Taylor that way.

"One more round?" he asked.

"Oh, why not?" she sighed dramatically, crossing to the other side of the matt-ring, "It's not like I don't have enough bruises already."

Taylor was a far cry from her eighteen-year-old self, but damn if a good ass-whooping didn't remind her to stay humble. No, she couldn't quite beat Natasha still, although now they tied more often than they didn't, and Clint was nearly the same, but Bucky never failed to hand Taylor her own ass on a silver platter with a huge self-satisfied grin ten times out of ten. They were ridiculously competitive, and he, unfortunately, had way more experience (and advantages) than her. She took the beating like a good sport though, and they always left the gym with smiles on their faces.