Talia was slipping in and out of sleep on the couch as Bruce snored softly beside her. The sting of her face was mixed with the dull ache of smiles she couldn't shake as the evening went on.
"Okay," Wanda whispered to Nat as the team filtered out and off to their own rooms for the night. "They're adorably similar."
Nat laughed as she shook Talia's shoulder lightly. "Come on Munch. You should get to bed."
Talia's eyes fluttered open and she looked around her at the empty room.
"Okay. I'm up." Her voice was thick with sleep and she stretched out before getting to her feet. "Where is everyone?"
"Everyone started heading to bed about an hour ago," Wanda smiled as Talia's eyes flittered around the room, falling on the empty pool table. "Well almost everyone. I think Bucky and Steve actually went for a run."
Talia turned to face Wanda, her eyes wide. "A run? Now?"
The girls laughed as they watched confusion write itself over Talia's face. Wanda simply nodded as she began pushing Talia to the stairs and Nat turned her attention to her sleeping scientist who wouldn't shift from the couch.
"Night Nat!" Talia called over her shoulder, laughing at the little woman pushing her up the stairs.
*
Her feet were bleeding in the snow and her fingers were turning blue as she brought them to her lips, blowing the little air she had in her lungs onto them, hoping to warm them. The trail of scarlet melted the path behind her and she tripped as she tried to push forwards.
She had no energy to move. She lay there; cold, alone, wounded and prayed for darkness to come. If darkness came she wouldn't have to run anymore. She wouldn't have to hurt anymore. She wouldn't be afraid anymore.
"Pouvez-vous m'entendre? De l'aide arrive. De l'aide arrive, restez avec moi."
As the dark haired woman wrapped Talia in her own coat and shouted for others from the streets of Paris to help, Talia swam in the soothing mist of blue that grew behind her eyes.
*
She woke suddenly, sitting straight in the bed and grasping her side as pain radiated through her. Her breathing was heavy and her heart was pounding. Somehow, despite being wrapped in the thick quilt of Steve's bed Talia was cold. Her eyes travelled to the empty sleeper sofa and relief settled in her chest as she realised she was alone. The blue of his eyes, so vividly calming in the terror of her nightmare were still burning in her mind and she couldn't see straight.
Talia grabbed her phone from the nightstand and slipped silently into the corridor and down the stairs, hoping to go unnoticed as she crept through the sleeping building. Quietly she tiptoed across the living room and over to the kitchen area, hoping to grab some water and calm her mind before she had to see Steve again.
When she heard the gruff mutter of a familiar voice in the kitchen she stopped moving. Her heart began to sprint as she contemplated turning back, her hand already resting on the doorframe. She could turn away and not have to deal with this. She could run back to the room and close her eyes and pretend she had never left the comfort of the room. But then if she returned to bed, if she closed her eyes, would she see it again? Would she feel the sting of his fury? Would she feel the knife of control all over again? Talia took a deep breath and stepped into the dim kitchen light.
"So," she sighed as his back stiffened and his grip on his mug tightened, the light bouncing off of his knuckles. "I take it you can't sleep either Soldier?"
Bucky turned to look at her, still angry from his argument with Steve, and took her in. She was still trembling from whatever had woken her and a light sheen of sweat clung to her, sticking small pieces of hair to her face. The bruise under her eye had spread across her cheekbone and over her nose as it had developed and the split of her lip was swollen. She looked fragile for the first time and Bucky conceded. Maybe it was time to soften slightly.
"Nightmares again?"
Talia tilted her head and furrowed her brow at him, confused about how he could possibly have known. He smiled a small, half smile at her and looked back at his steaming tea.
"Steve mentioned it," he explained, "when he was forcing how good a person you really are down my throat."
Talia breathed out an awkward laugh, moving to the sink and turning on the cold tap, waiting for it to be ice cold before splashing her face. She turned to face Bucky as he sat watching her, drying her face on the edge of her t-shirt. She felt his eyes move to her stomach, tracing over the lines of her bullet wound and she dropped her t-shirt quickly.
"You know Barnes," Talia smiled when he raised an eyebrow questioningly at her. She'd only ever called him Soldier. "We don't have to hate each other. I promise I'm not trying to hurt anyone."
Bucky nodded his head slowly, pursing his lips as he contemplated his response.
"Look, Romanoff." He paused as she grinned. "I don't like you. I don't like you and I don't trust you. If one of my teammates - one of my friends - gets hurt because of you I will not hesitate to hurt you." Talia's smile faded as she listened to him speak. His voice was not filled with anger or aggression, it was simple and controlled. This was not a threat, it was a promise. "I don't trust you. But Steve does and I trust him, so yeah..." He smiled softly at her. "I guess we don't have to hate each other."
Talia nodded and stepped away from the counter, passing Bucky slowly.
"Goodnight Soldier."
"Goodnight Little Widow."
When Talia laughed she saw his shoulders shake a little, as if he was maybe trying not to laugh himself.
"Little Widow?" she mused. "Yeah, I like that."
Bucky was left alone for the briefest of moments, shaking his head and muttering to himself once again, before Steve stepped in through the glass doors to the garden.
"You know Buck, that was almost nice." He playfully teased his best friend who was desperately trying to hide the small smile he now couldn't shake. "It's easier not to hate her, isn't it?"
"Whatever Rogers." He rolled his eyes as Steve walked past him laughing, patting his shoulder as he made his way to his room to see her. "You're still an idiot!"
*
Talia felt the atmosphere shifting around her as he stepped into the room. There was an electricity in the air, a protective buzz that seemed to envelop her each time he was near. Her eyes were trained on the television as she flicked through channels, her arms wrapped around her knees as she sat at the end of the bed.
"Thank you Ice-pop." She sighed, placing the remote down beside her and turning to face him.
He stood casually against the doorframe and Talia's eyes raked over him. He was wearing joggers and a tight grey t-shirt which seemed to show every muscle through the thin fabric. He stood with his arms crossed against his chest and a small smile on his lips. His eyes were soft and comforting and she felt herself drawn to the blue once again.
"You're probably more than welcome Runaway," his voice was low, smooth, "but what am I being thanked for?"
He came to sit beside her, facing her as she twisted so that she could face him. She took a few deep breaths as he waited. He smiled again, showing her that it was okay, and she shook her head and widened her eyes at him, smiling quickly before speaking.
"For trusting me," she gushed, "and putting up with me taking over your room. And talking to Barnes, and probably Stark too. All of it really." She shook as she spoke. "I'm not really sure how to do this whole opening up thing. I've been alone for a really long time and that kind of closes you off a bit and then the last time I did trust someone..." She gestured to her face and chuckled slightly, uncomfortable being this open and yet desperate for him to really know her. "Well as you can see, he turned out to be pretty nasty."
Steve's eyes trailed over the cuts on her face, the swollen patches of broken skin and the wine stain patches of bloody bruises and he wanted to reach out and hold her, to soothe her, to fix it all.
"I want to be more open with you," she continued to ramble as he looked at her, "and I know I have a habit of shutting down but - what are you doing?"
Talia's whole body stiffened as Steve gently wrapped his arms around her and pulled her towards him. Her hands rested against his chest as she looked up at him and he smiled gently, shaking his head at her and trying not to laugh.
"It's called a hug Talia." Steve brought his face down so that his forehead was resting against her head. "Friends give them to each other every now and then, especially when one is having a little bit of a freak out moment."
As she pulled away slightly, her body relaxing into the closeness and her heart pounding in her ears Talia bit her lip and tried to muster up whatever courage she had left in her. Her mind was racing as she stared into the steely mist of his blue eyes and she could feel his heart beating against her hands.
"Steve..." she whispered as his eyes flickered down to her lips and back to her eyes. "I - I don't think I want to be friends."
As she leant in to him Steve brought his hand up to gently cup her face, her eyes were open and clear. She was so vulnerable in this moment and yet Steve felt like she could see every single corner of his soul. He searched her eyes, never wanting to overstep and only found nerves and desire. She paused just before her lips met his, their breath intermingling as she waited, hoping he'd close the distance, praying she hadn't just done something irreversibly stupid. It was excruciating. It was blissful. It was torture.
When he closed the distance he was slow and careful. His lips brushed against hers with such a featherlike touch that she wasn't sure if she imagined it at first. Her eyes closed as she revelled in the feel of his lips on hers and her hands moved up his chest and behind his neck, her fingers weaving themselves into his hair. As their lips parted, as Talia sighed into the kiss, as he pulled her closer still, neither of them thought of anything outside of this moment.