Argent ♝ Bucky Barnes

01

xi. Hold Me Down by Halsey
My demons are begging me to open up my mouth
I need them mechanically make the words come out
They fight me, vigorous and angry, watch them pounce
Ignite me, licking at the flames they bring about
***

The second time Allison wakes, she's much calmer. She knows where she is (Avengers Tower, New York) and who she's with (metal arm, haunted eyes, no threat). Clothes were soft on her skin and the air was cool, leaving a chill on her flushed skin and aching body.

She also isn't laying on a metal table. This time, it's an actual bed - which was an improvement. There's a chair pulled up to the bedside where the man with the metal arm sits, watching her intently with a piercing blue gaze. It really should unnerve her but really, she feels comforted.

Over the course of the clusterfuck that was her life in Beacon Hills, she had learned to truly hone her instincts. She was running with wolves and hunting monsters, she had to learn to trust her gut.

And right now, her gut says that he's the safest person in this place. And she trusts it. And by extension, him.

They meet eyes and for a second, she's drowning in an endless pool of grey-blue. His eyes are so blue and cold, like the depths of the ocean hiding a dark abyss. Something about them feels angry and she's just itching to know why.

She just hopes she doesn't drown in the process.

Allison doesn't know how long they just sit there, staring at each other, but it's long enough that the other presence in the room goes completely unnoticed by her. So when a bored voice asked, "How do you feel?" she was thoroughly unprepared.

Immediately, Allison holds back a screech of surprise and ducks her head. Adrenaline speeds her heart up and instinctively, she feels under the pillow, before cursing. She isn't at home and there isn't going to be a knife hidden.

So before she can overthink it, she grabs the next best thing, the baseball bat sitting on the other side of the bed next to the man. Why that was there- she couldn't guess - but it seemed like a fairly dumb thing to do, leaving a bat next to an unconscious girl who was previously drugged and suffering from a mental break.

Whatever the reason, she's grateful and the her fingers tighten around it before she whips her head around to see who it was. Stiles should be proud (god she missed him).

When she finally sees who spoke, she relaxes. The redhead from before. The one who speaks Russian. She was staring at Allison, with a thoroughly unimpressed scowl on her face - hip cocked, arms crossed, eyes narrowed - a perfect picture of annoyance.

Sighing, Allison sets the bat down and leans back against the pillow. Even though she probably slept for hours, she still feels exhausted. Not to mention that completely uncalled for overreaction. She wishes the earth would just swallow her whole.

"Not bad considering I was brought back to life, suffered an emotional breakdown, and was drugged, all in the span of half an hour. Care to tell me why I'm here?"

A wry smile tugs at the redhead's lips. "Well, seeing as you're up, why don't you come with me and meet everyone," she responds, ignoring the sarcasm and the second question. "They've been worried about you."

Alison's eyebrows shoot up in surprise. "Wow," she says, clearing her throat. She doesn't really know what to say to that so she resorts to sarcasm ("Sarcasm is my only defense). "We've known each other all of five minutes and you already want me to meet the family."