"Well, I won't keep you guys any longer. Go ahead and get Kate situated at the site." Fury suggested letting the seat he previously sat idle in slide behind him. "And Kate, try your best to survive Stark's idea of humor." He added cocking his head towards Tony as a smirk crept across my lips.
"Will do, sir." I nodded as my ears picked up on an overdramatized scoff splitting Tony's lips in two, whipping my head around to face him I immediately bit my cheeks at the sight of his rolling eyes.
"After her royal highness." Tony gestured extending his arm allowing me to exit first.
"I like her." Nick smiled to Steve as the soldier's eyes unintentionally followed my figure exiting the room.
"Yea, me too." He nodded in agreement as Fury double took the soldiers tone and mannerisms.
"Ready to ditch the uniform?" Natasha asked after observing my body's obvious discomfort in the skin fitted suit.
"Hell yes." I sighed in relief as my posture slouched, my body language sending more of a thank you than my words.
"Here, try these." Natasha added as my eyes caught a few items of clothing approaching my now open palms.
"Thank you." I kindly smiled running my fingers across the smooth to the touch fabric as I headed back to my room to change out of the silly suit.
"All ready to go?" Bucky asked leaning against the doorframe while gently knocking on the door, intently listening for a response.
"Born ready." I confidently replied with a cocky grin opening the door in regular, comfortable attire; momentarily caught off guard by his unaccompanied presence.
"Glad to see you've left your so called hooker days behind." He smiled gesturing towards my clothing in the attempt to create small talk, now making the silly statement an inside joke.
"Me too." I agreed as Bucky chivalrously extended his arm and began to lead me down the somewhat familiar halls while my eyes mindlessly scanned the monotone color scheme; struggling to get as much as a word to roll of my tongue entangled in my awkward tendencies
"So you're a doctor." Bucky added trying to break the somewhat awkward silence evidently hovering in the hallway, causing my head to immediately whip upwards to face his; this small act causing a tingling warmth to tickle the soldiers cheeks.
"Why yes, and you're an assa- a guy with a metal arm." I corrected hastily returning to my previous composure as my mind internally reprimanded my visibly desperate response to mild interaction.
"Yea, no shit." He lowly chuckled as we both approached the team standing idle in front of a sleek, modern SUV engaged in small talk; this was actually happening.
"I don't believe I've met you." I asked sliding across the row of slick leather furrowing my brows and briefly contouring my face in confusion towards a melanated man now turning to face me. And a very handsome at that.
"And you'd be right. Sam, Sam Wilson." He replied with a bright smile courteously reaching his hand out towards me.
"Kate, Kate Wilder." I sheepishly smiled after slightly flinching as an automatic response, my cheeks now rendered hot to the touch with embarrassment.
"I don't bite." He laughed as I tried to quickly recover and shake his hand, all while Bucky attentively observed my quirky interactions.
"I should hope not, then again, there's a lot of kinky shit around these days." I sarcastically quipped tilting my head towards him with a softly raised brow while Bucky's face momentarily contoured in confusion at my statement, kinky?
"Oh, you and I are definitely gonna be friends." Sam inadvertently laughed with an amused smirk curving his lips upward, finding my modern humor somewhat refreshing after being surrounded by fossils for teammates.
Every few minutes, Bucky averted his gaze to my slumped figure resting against the car door aimlessly scanning every detail within eyes view; admiring the way I found such unwavering interest in the simplest things. After a long scenic car ride my eyes hesitantly succumbed to the nagging urge to slip unconscious into a dreamless sleep, the only indicator that we arrived being the car roughly jostling me awake. Snapping my eyes open I tried to play it off like I wasn't in fact sleeping, but my mind was far too enthralled with the scenery filling my eyes. I expected a remote little, rag-tag cabin in the woods after Fury explained the situation, but I was definitely wrong. Instead, my widened eyes were greeted by the appearance of a modernized structure on a reasonably sized plot surrounded by the pinnacle of security measures along with towering trees almost rendering our presence unknown; making me feel as if I were hidden like a prized possession from the outside world. "Well, I can cross getting murdered in a dingy shack in the woods off my list worries." I mumbled in awe as the gates opened wide still trying to physically shake the fatigue from my flickering eyes.
"Not my best, but it'll get the job done." Tony tried to humbly remark but only resulted in him proudly admiring his work.
"And they said you can't be humble." I sarcastically quipped acknowledging his prideful comment which earned an amused smile from Sam.
"After you." Bucky added opening the car door while gently taking my hand in his own, weakly smiling at just how small I was.
"Not really what I expected." I added visibly dumbfounded while advancing towards the heavily secured entrance, my trailing eyes captivated by the wooded scenery stretching on for what seemed infinity; my nostrils pleasantly flooded with the fragrant scent of fresh pine and soil.
"Where we're standing is completely off the grid and untraceable to any radar, I had to take any extra security measures I could. Also, it's a hell of a house, just look at it!" Tony added swirling his index finger in a circular motion as I nodded in agreement. "Well this is it." He proudly announced lifting his arms above his head.
"A couple of other team members will be joining us tonight." Steve stated hanging up his simple flip phone which earned a smirk from me. What's so funny?" He asked at the sight of my failed attempt of a concealed smile.
"Nothing, nothing." I remarked dismissively waving my hand at the soldier's question continuing to rotate in a complete circle while admiring the buildings immaculate interior.
"Care to see your room?" Natasha kindly asked with a small smirk while gently tugging my arm, interrupting my silent gasps.
"Sure." I deadpanned blinking twice following close behind Natasha up the stairs, mindlessly running my fingers across beautifully carved staircase. "It's beautiful!" I gasped as the slick, wooden door revealed my new sleeping quarters with floor to ceiling windows showcasing the breathtaking wooded scenery; the wide range of raw, earthy hues of colors catching my attentive eye.
"Well I'm right next store if you ever need anything, and a little heads up, Thor is very very loud. Just try your best and tune him out." Natasha explained as I let out a soft laugh at the fact that the god of thunder would be keeping me up late at night.
"Thank you." I kindly replied not letting my eyes stray from surveying my surroundings, not even noticing the assassins absence.
"Who's the new girl?" Sam asked raising a brow as everyone turned to acknowledge his words.
"A New York doctor on HYDRAS hit list." Tony answered visibly surprised by his own words.
"Single?" Sam jokingly replied wiggling his brows.
"Don't be such a Tony." Clint retorted playfully punching his shoulder. "But if you must know she is." He added in a hushed tone quickly averting his gaze trying to make his comment unknown to the rest of the team.
"Stalker much?" Natasha scoffed entering the room as both Sam and Clint stood dumbfounded at how alert her ears really were.
I eagerly fell into the luring bed and simply sighed in relief, my body slumping in content as the silky duvet hugged my figure; it's ability to temporarily distract me from the fact that I was being man hunted still not being enough to ease my overstimulated mind.
"What the hell is going on?" I whispered grabbing my now pulsating temple as everything caught up with me; feeling like a brick wall of realization hit me head on. All of my friends, the select few I tolerated, were left behind, or rather murdered. My career, ended. My freedom, taken. My safety, comprised. Everything I knew was gone in a matter of a day. Everything.
Unfortunately not everything.
"And she's back!" Tony announced, intentionally exposing my attempted effort to be unseen, as I hesitantly descended down the stairs, standing idle as my brows became knit in confusion at the sight of a few more faces.
"No need to worry, I'm pretty sure they won't bite." Steve whispered into my ear while stretching his arm outwards towards the living room.
"Pretty sure?" I nervously smirked while mindlessly securing a stray strand of hair behind my ear.
"Eh, it's a 50/50 chance." He jokingly replied forcing an uneasy expression across his face, causing my arms to fall limp as I cut him a seriously stare.
"Fair maiden come join us!" Thor joyfully boomed as Steve gestured for me to go and be social.
Avenger or mother?
"Isn't he kind of a threat to the world?" I nervously whispered to Bucky mindlessly joining him on the sleek leather sofa, not even thinking twice before starting a conversation with him; even though I nearly just met the man, I oddly felt a connection or a magnetic pull luring me closer and closer.
"It's a long story." He answered, referring to the God of Mischief sitting in a poised manor adjacent to me, as the uncertainty in his tone answered my question; I now found myself bluntly staring at the cunning stranger intrigued. "You're staring by the way." He reminded gently nudging his elbow into my shoulder, his small gesture causing my consciousness to return to reality.
"Hi, I'm Scott." Scott kindly greeted with a genuine dad smile spreading from cheek to cheek, figuring he'd be the first one to acknowledge the elephant in the room.
"Kate." I politely waved in return.
"So we're not here for eternity, this is Wanda, Vision, Stephen, Peter, Bruce, oh and good old antlers over here." Tony interrupted pointing his index finger around the crowded room and in response I gave them each a courteous smile and a wave.
"H-hi I'm Peter, uhm Parker." Peter stammered from across the room with vibrant crimson cheeks as I kindly smiled at the clearly nervous boy.
"Kate." I reiterated as Tony palmed his forehead in embarrassment, shaking his head in disbelief at Peter's complete inability to communicate with an individual of the opposite sex.
"Looks like someone has a little crush." Bucky jokingly whispered underneath his breath while wiggling his brows, meanwhile, his breath fanning across my face felt better than it should have.
"Oh shut up." I softly laughed dismissively waving my hand at his immature accusation.
"Hope you like pizza, Wilder." Tony arbitrarily spoke up from behind the speckled granite countertop, his honey brown eyes blinking twice clearly looking for a response.
"Like it? I wouldn't be over exaggerating in the least when I tell you pizza was probably my first love." I replied with a genuine look of pleasure etched across my features, maybe a little too much pleasure, earning me a slightly concerned look from Tony.
Soon after internally drooling over the thought of real food, the sight of towering pizza boxes caused my tastebuds to sting as the fragrant smell of parmesan flooded my eager nostrils. Everyone frantically rushed to get a slice as the once silent room boiled over into rousing laughter and conversation, at first glance one might've thought they might've possible gone years without food; this all became a little much for my taste. Finding the courage to explore the uncharted house, I inconspicuously left the chaotic scene and found my way to a balcony which over looked the breathtaking scenery. I'd never seen such beautiful mountains, towering trees, and against the starry night sky rendered me absolutely speechless; my consciousness nearly drifting into oblivion as my ears became lured by the melody of the chirping crickets and swaying treetops.
"Too loud?" Bucky inquired gesturing towards the living room with a beer steady in his grasp, my composure staggering briefly at the fact that someone actually noticed my absence amongst gods.
"Just a tad, I think Thor and Tony singing might've been a bit much." I laughed. "It sure is beautiful out here though." I blissfully sighed resting my arms on the steel banister pricking my exposed skin with its cold sensation, this minor action unfortunately showcasing the faded yet visible scars painted across my arms.
"Uhm, y-yea It sure is." Bucky stuttered trying not to blatantly stare with his flickering eyes at my marks; however, my attentive peripheral vision soon caught him eyeing them which caused me to hastily pull my sleeve back down again. "I'm sorry, I wasn't, I didn't mean to-" He stammered embarrassed nearly choking on his own words.
"It's not your fault, it's kind of hard to miss." I sighed taking another bite of the greasy pizza while deeply inhaling the refreshing mountain air.
"I-" He began as the high pitched sound of the glass door sliding across its steel track caused both our heads to whip around.
"There you are! Care to join us for some drinks?" Steve asked visibly double taking our unaccompanied presence.
"Oh yea, uhm, sure!"
YOOOOO, you survived😂 Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Thanks for reading 😭❤️
Xx- Maddy❤️