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“Still with us there, Space Cadet?” Tony called abruptly in the middle of the meeting, turning everyone’s attention to you before you could nod in response.
“That was rude,” Bucky murmured just loud enough for Steve to hear.
“It was, but she does have a habit of getting lost in her head during these big meetings.”
“No talking,” Tony interrupted their conversation. “Really, Cap? We’re here to welcome your oldest friend to the team and you talk during my beautiful, moving speech?” He held his hand over his heart, feigning insult.
“You’re taking too long, and we have dinner reservations,” Natasha reminded him.
“Fine,” Tony huffed. “I’ll finish my speech during dinner then.”
Everyone groaned, but began filing out of the room to get ready. Steve chuckled, hanging back with Bucky so they wouldn’t be crowded at the door.
“Who is she?” Bucky asked. “Y/N, I mean. I don’t remember seeing her during the thing with the accords.”
“She retired like Clint did,” he began as they finally left the conference room. “But she disappeared. Neither Tony nor I could find her. When things started clearing up and the team got back together, she was just here.”
“What does she do?”
Steve shrugged. “All she’ll say is it’s sensory based. Fury’s he only one who knows exactly how. If we’re outnumbered, she’ll disorient as many as she can, and it works.”
Clint dropped down from the ceiling, making the soldiers jump as he joined their conversation. “I heard that on one of her earlier missions, one guy started screaming something about beetles and cutting chunks out of his own flesh!”
Bucky swallowed hard while Steve rolled his eyes.
“Where did you hear that?”
“An agent told me,” he grinned. “A buddy of his was on that mission with her, and said he refused to work with her again.”
Bucky’s mouth went dry. “So she messes with their heads?” he asked nervously.
Clint’s smile faded and he placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. “It’s ok, man. She’s never done anything to anyone on the team.”
“Nor will she. She’s a great gal,” Steve assured him, helping him relax a little.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Bucky eventually got comfortable enough to wander the tower alone. He even got friendly with most of the team. You, however, he was still a little wary of. He was polite when in your company, but other than casual niceties, he didn’t spend too much time with you.
He would watch you sometimes, though. When he’d see you stare out the window, barely moving a muscle, he’d know you were ‘spacing out’, as Tony put it. Seeing how your brow would slightly furrow, or your lips formed the faintest smile, he grew more and more curious as to what you were thinking of.
As hesitant as he was around you, he found he was eager to get to do a mission with you. He wanted to see first hand just what exactly you did to enemy agents. The idea excited and terrified him. It was months before his wish was granted, and you were to take down a huge base. He was thankful the entire team would be there when he finally got to see you in action, and even more so when you were grouped with him, Vision, and Tony.
You were outnumbered six to one, but it was nothing you couldn’t handle, and when the last enemy dropped, you all took a moment to breathe before FRIDAY announced reinforcements were on the way.
“You’re up, Space Cadet!” Tony called.
Bucky watched you step forward, fighting the urge to pull you behind him. He got his weapon ready when Tony’s blaster was trained on the door, ready to shoot.
When they burst through, however, their eyes widened and began to look around, slowly pointing their weapons away. One of the agents shouted, and the others turned facing the door, and began to shoot at the other agents that hadn’t yet entered.
It went on for several minutes, and though Bucky desperately wanted to shift his sight toward you, he didn’t dare.
“I’m losing them,” you said softly as you raised your own weapon. Bucky noticed a few of them started blinking rapidly or shaking their heads.
“Ready? Drop it now!” Tony commanded.
Almost instantly, the agents started turning their weapons on you, but with the bulk of them having been taken care of, it wasn’t much of a fight.
When it was over, you all met back at the quinjet. Bucky never took his eyes off you, still wondering what it was you did to the agents that made them turn on their own. It wasn’t as horrifying as what Clint told him, and though it was a little alarming, he had to admit he was expecting to see something more. He didn’t let that disappoint him, though. If anything, it fueled his curiosity to the point he began considering just asking you.
“It’s not polite to stare, you know,” Natasha teased, drawing his gaze away from you. “See something interesting?”
“Uhh…”
“Don’t worry, she’s gone.”
“We’ve got blast off!” he heard Tony holler in the background.
They both turned back to you to find your eyes glazed over, pointed at a spot on the floor near the cockpit.
“Is it the same?” he asked. “Do they always end up shooting each other?”
Natasha sighed, not really liking that she didn’t completely know the answer. “Mostly. Sometimes they scream as if they’re afraid, and sometimes it’s methodical. But the result is the same.”
“Has she told you why? What makes them do it?”
“No.”
Nearly everyone fell asleep on the flight back to the city, but Bucky didn’t. Though you didn’t move, not even to shift in your seat, he kept checking to see if you were still ‘out’. When you reached the tower, he heard Tony playfully tell you it was time to land your rocket ship, and you slowly came out of your trance, eyes regaining focus.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
When it wasn’t the nightmares keeping Bucky up, it was the questions. Ones he still didn’t have answers to. Granted, he hasn’t asked, despite his trying to convince himself to, but he had started spending time with you. At first it was the mystery of your power that ultimately made him decide to befriend you, but as he got to know you, he grew to care for you, and put off asking out of fear he wouldn’t like the answer.
Tonight, he couldn’t hold back anymore.
After waking in a cold sweat, a scream of agony caught in his throat, he went to the kitchen for a cup of coffee to chase the tiredness away. Stepping into the common room on the way to the kitchen, he was surprised to find you there, laughing at something on the television.
“Wow, Doll, never seen you up this late. Bad dream?”
“Huh?” You reached for your phone, checking the time. “Oh, I didn’t realize it was that late. What about you? Bad dream?”
He froze for a moment, realizing he’d given his own reason away. “Uhh, yeah.”
“You have them a lot, don’t you?” You got up and followed him to the kitchen. “You always look so tired.”
“I’m fine,” he said with a tight smile.
You raised a brow at him, letting him know you weren’t buying it. “Why are you making coffee, then?”
“I like it.”
“At two in the morning?”
“…Yeah.”
Knowing that was all you were going to get out of him, you sat at the counter to wait for it to brew. “Want me to stay with you?”
This time, he gave you a sincere smile. “You don’t have to do that. No sense in both of us bein’ tired tomorrow.”
“I know I don’t have to. But if you want me to, I don’t mind. I can sleep whenever, so it’s ok.”
“Thanks, but you should get to bed. Unlike me, you never look tired.” He began to chuckle, “I mean, your skin practically glows.”
“Alright,” you hopped off, hiding your bashful smile. “If you need anything, let me know.”
As he watched you walk away, he blurted, “What do they see?”
You paused your steps, unsure of what to say. They had all asked at one point or another, but after freaking some agents out in the beginning of your career, you were hesitant to explain your power. The fear you felt in the pit of your stomach wasn’t surprising. What was was that you found yourself wanting to tell him. “Whatever I want them to.”
He knew it was a longshot, but he had to try. “Like what?”
You shut your eyes for a moment and took a shaky breath. “Scenery, animals, intruders… us… monsters… anything, really. As strange or terrifying as I need it to be.”
“So instead of seeing each other, they see… one of those other things?”
“Pretty much.”
He nodded his head in understanding, without really understanding. He wanted to know more, but it would have to wait. Another question was more urgent. “Where do you go?” He sucked in a breath when your eyes met his, the dreamy smile you sent him catching him off guard.
“Someplace beautiful.”
He perked up at that. “Really? Can you tell me about it?” He blushed immediately after the words fell out of his mouth. “Sorry, it’s probably really personal.”
Instead of heading to the elevator, you sat back on the couch. “How about we make a deal? You forget the coffee, and I’ll show you.”
As he turned to shut the brewer off, he realized he was nervous, but not afraid. His mug forgotten, he joined you on the couch and followed your instruction to lean back.
Sensing his nerves, you took his hand. “I’m not going to hurt you.”
“I know,” he smiled. “But after everything…I’m just a little anxious, ya know?”
“We can start slow. What do you smell?”
He looked at the bowl of popcorn you’d been eating from on the coffee table. “Popcorn.”
“Try again.”
He inhaled, and the popcorn scent was gone. There was still a salty smell, but it was more natural and clean. “Is that… water?” Just then, he heard it. He looked around the common room, wondering if the sound was coming from the same speakers he’d hear FRIDAY from. Then, he felt tiny specks of water hit his face.
“Close your eyes, Buck,” you whispered. He shut them and took a deep breath. “Remember you’re safe, ok? Open them.”
When he did, he gasped at the sight. You were both standing at the edge of a cliff, waves crashing below you. “Where are we?”
“Technically, we’re on the couch at the compound. But this place, I don’t know. I just created it one day and kept coming back.
“I can feel it,” he wiped the water from his face, marveling at the glistening of his wet hand. “It’s so real.”
“I have a lot of little places like this.” You looked at your hands, suddenly self-conscious about sharing something so intimate. “When I need to put my mind at ease, I come to one of them until I can face whatever’s bothering me.”
“Thank you,” he smiled, taking your hand in his. “It really is beautiful.”
Feeling your cheeks grow hot, you tried not to get lost in his eyes. “Um, thanks. Do you want to stay, or go back? Or, do you want to make one?”
His eyes widened in excitement and you felt your heart nearly explode. “I can make one?!”
“Sure. What do you want?”
“Uhh… A large meadow of soft grass. Nothing but grass for miles.” He looked around when he couldn’t hear the waves anymore, and found you were now in a sea of green. “Can I have a little wind? Just enough to make it sway.” When a breeze hit, he noticed the way the grass began to dance and began to laugh. He sat and threw himself on his back, hand reaching out for you. “Come lie with me, please?”
You couldn’t deny him if you wanted to, and you felt your stomach erupt in butterflies when he scooted closer. “This is nice,” you said softly, not wanting to disrupt the peacefulness. “Is there anything else?”
“Can it be night time?” His pleading eyes reminded you of child asking for a treat. “With a clear sky and lots of stars?”
“Stars, huh? Sounds like you’re the space cadet, here,” you teased.
Bucky looked up at the sky, eyes shining brighter than any star. “It’s perfect.” He stared up in silence, occasionally stealing glances at you. “Does it bother you? The way Tony teases you?”
“Not really. I mean, it’s true isn’t it? My head’s always up in the stars.”
“Maybe that’s why you glow,” he said before he could stop himself. “You come back covered in stardust.”
You bit your lip in a failed attempt to restrain your giggle. He snorted, and soon you were both laughing the awkwardness away. When you settled down, he pulled you closer, allowing you to cuddle into him.
“You’re amazing, you know that? I can’t thank you enough for sharing this with me.”
His arm tightened around you, making you hum happily. You stayed that way for a while, breathing in his scent along with the crisp air.
“I can bring you here whenever you want, you know. You can even sleep and not have to worry about nightmares.” When he didn’t reply, you looked up to find him already asleep. “Sweet dreams, Buck,” you whispered before nodding off yourself.
*couldn’t find a relevant pic I liked enough, so I just went with this one because holy shit*