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Luna liked being in the backline. There was safety in watching the battlefield from behind, being responsible for keeping everyone alive, and when required, getting kills too. It gave her a sense of control over a life and position that always felt like it was thrust upon her. She hadn’t always liked her powers, but they had definitely grown on her.
It wasn’t often that Luna found herself in a compromising position. She always positioned herself close enough to run back into her teammates for safety in case she was dived where no one could see her. The vanguards always knew to ward them off once they were in line of sight, and sliding out of danger as if she were on ice wasn’t a tough job once the enemy was frozen.
This particular day, her team was moving the statue of Bast up to the hall of Djalia and things were going well. They had won a fight, captured point, and she had just healed everyone back up. Luna gave herself a moment to relax and stretch before they began the next fight, watching as Venom and Psylocke ran back to point.
Luna was familiar with the distinct, creeping sense of being watched. It made her hair stand on end, and she whipped around to survey the area. Magik stood menacingly beside a pillar, slinking behind it upon eye contact. Yup. It was time to get back to point.
She began to skate out of the corner she had so unfortunately backed herself into, but Magik played for the hunt. Stalking her like prey. She struck, just as Luna thought she had a chance of escape, slashing her from behind. She cried softly as she crumpled to the ground, clawing at the ground as she tried to crawl back to her team. Magik’s footsteps trailed slowly behind her, and the scrape of her soul sword came to a halt as she lifted the blade over her head. Luna rolled over and froze the mutant in place, trying to give herself time to put more distance between them. It didn’t hold long, and Luna was sure it was over.
Yet, by some miracle, the metallic tendrils of a certain soldier’s arm yanked the enemy away from her before the sword could come crashing down. Bucky landed three shots to Magik’s head and knocked her out, immediately dropping to his knees and lifting Luna off the ground and into his lap. He looked her over worriedly. “Heal yourself.” he said assertively, caution lacing his tone.
Luna blinked. Oh yeah, she could do that! She activated her ice arts and shivered as her wounds started to heal over. Bucky’s brow was still furrowed, muttering curses about the tanks and their failure to save you from the flank. “Should have kept an eye on you,” he grumbled. “How will they kill with no healer? Ran back to point, no one to escort you back? Idiots…” He took a moment to dispel his frustration before turning his full attention to her, brushing her hair out of her eyes. “Are you okay?”
She felt herself coming back to herself, though she was still a little dizzy from the adrenaline. And maybe she was also dizzy because of how flustered it made her to be fussed over by the Winter Soldier. His eyes sparkled with heart melting concern and he cradled her as if he was shielding her from further harm. It made her stomach churn.
Bucky seemed to be oblivious to her reaction, his mind half focused on how he’s going to get revenge on the enemy team for this, and half on her lack of response. He grazed his knuckes over her cheek, sort of mindlessly, eyes fixed on hers. He swam in her gaze like a fish in water.
Heterochromia. He had never taken the time to stop and take a proper look at how beautiful her eyes were. The brown, speckled with golden flakes and the blue, as if dusted with shards of ice and snow. He had never seen anything like it. Especially not up close. “You have beautiful eyes.” he said softly.
Now, here’s the thing. Bucky wasn’t used to thinking before he spoke. He hardly spoke at all, in fact. And when he did, it was usually about Hydra and what was done to him, because they stole such a great deal of his life. He was still relearning the mundane norms of modern society, like the difference between giving compliments, and flirting with a pretty girl that he had just saved from peril. Bucky didn’t think he was flirting.
But Luna did. It was a good thing she ran cold, otherwise she was sure her face would have burned with the heat of a thousand suns in that moment. She really wasn’t sure why she was reacting like this to his advances, if they were even advances at all. This was neither the time, nor the place for romance.
And yet… his eyes, usually so tired and lifeless, seemed to twinkle down at her. Different from the concerned glimmer from before, this was a gaze that was thinly veiled as nonchalance, but fell upon her with such tenderness.
It was hard to find the right words to say in that moment. Words hold weight, and nothing she could muster felt like enough. It was suffocating, invigorating. It had to stop. “We should get back to point.” She said, though making no effort to move.
Seamlessly, he helped her to her feet, expertly hiding his disappointment in the ending of the interaction behind the metal mask that covered his mouth. She dusted herself off, and he looked towards point, giving himself a moment to compose himself. Their team seemed to be managing well even in their absence. It was an easy fight, but it was still possible for everything to go south very soon. “You’re right.” He sighed, pulling his gun back out of its holster. “Stay behind me, okay? If anyone tries sneaking up on you, freeze them and call out for me, I’ll handle it.”
She nodded quickly, trying to get her head out of the clouds and back into the game. Distraction was not an option here. No matter how gorgeous her teammate looked as he manhandled and slaughtered the enemy, picking them off one by one, and rushing back to her for healing.
The second half of the game was rough for Luna. Her healing output had lessened greatly, and every time she tried snapping herself out of it, there he was again. Standing there with his biceps rippling and chest heaving as he pulled the trigger on another enemy. There was practice in his movements, that she once thought was just mindless gunning.
They won the match, obviously. Spiderman took the opportunity to wave the win over their enemies heads, while the others took a breather and offered praise for their performance. Luna felt a heavy hand on her shoulder, turning her head to smile warmly at her snowy compatriot. “Good fight today.”
They shared a look of unspoken understanding. There were words that couldn’t be said here and now, but they would come back up eventually. When the smoke cleared, and they had a moment alone, it would all come tumbling down at once. The corners of his eyes crinkled as he smiled warmly from under his mask. “Really good.”