Since 1945. (Marvel 'Winter Soldier' Fanfiction)

Chapter 6

"Sorry," Anna murmured, cupping the back of her neck in a sweaty palm. The quirk of Bucky's lips grew until it could be easily discerned as a guarded smile. Anna smiled hesitantly back.

"It's fine," he replied, dropping the magnet on the island's counter and passing by Natasha to rifle through the fridge. He withdrew a few seconds later, protein shake in his metal hand. He then proceeded to round the island and take the seat next to Anna, causing Steve's smile to instantly transform into a dumbstruck, lopsided expression. It was pretty adorable, if Anna did say so herself.

"If you're not careful, your face is gonna stick like that, Rogers," Bucky chastised, taking a long drink of his shake. Steve only scoffed and gave him a half-hearted glare, but the fondness was unmistakable.

"Well, I'm off to the office, I'll see you all later," Pepper said, smile soft. Everyone said their brief goodbyes, Anna opting to do an awkward, half-wave.

"So, what's the plan for today?" Natasha asked, pouring herself a cup of coffee.

"Training," Steve answered, and Bucky nodded, chugging down the rest of the shake and tossing it into the trash can across the room.

"Do you want to tag along, Anna?" Steve asked, and Anna's eyes went comically wide. "Train?" she thought in a panic, "with two super soldiers and a master assassin, while recovering from a hangover? Just sign my death certificate now." But what actually came out of her mouth a whispered "okay."

"Don't worry, you won't actually be training with us, but you're free to use the facility," Natasha said, obviously having read the sheer terror blooming across Anna's face. "Oh thank god," Anna thought, giving the older woman a grateful smile. "Come on, I have some exercise appropriate clothes you can borrow for now. We'll meet you guys down there," Natasha said, directing the last part towards Steve and Bucky.

~~~~~~~~

Twenty minutes later, Anna found herself in the Avengers Tower basement watching the most extreme sparring session ever. Bucky and Steve were seemingly blurred together, lost in a flurry of punches and kicks that Anna couldn't keep track of for the life of her. Natasha stood off to the side, stretching and awaiting her turn in the ring. Well, not a ring, but a giant mat in the center of the room. To the left were two actual boxing rings, to the right an array of fitness equipment, and to the back a moderately sized rock wall, and a range for target practice. After some deliberation and a few more glances at Bucky and Steve because damn, Anna decided on the rock wall.

Anna also decided, about halfway up the twenty foot wall, that rock climbing was not for her. Fifteen minutes full of struggling and muffled curses and numb fingers, and she was stuck. Anna reasoned that she could jump down, but she was determined to make it to the top. Carl had once called her the most stubborn woman on the face of the earth and she was determined to live up to that title. She would climb to the top of that rock wall if it took her hours– she just needed to figure out how.

"You're stuck." The voice almost startled her into letting go of the colorful hand holds she was clinging to for dear life. She glanced partway over her shoulder to see Bucky, expression carefully neutral as he stared up at her.

"No, I'm just...uh, taking a break," Anna replied, attempting a shrug and quickly dismissing the notion.

"A break."

"Yes, a break," Anna snapped back, blowing some hair from her forehead. She quickly gauged Bucky's expression to make sure she hadn't offended him– her brain to mouth filter needed some work. He was unfazed by her tone.