#readerxwinterhawk

"Yeah. Of course I worry. You saw what she looked like when we found her. That shit broke my heart."

"I know. I felt it too. But we do what we have to for the people we love, right? And… and we love her."

"Yeah?"

"Well, I know that I do. And we're the same with her as we are when we're alone, all tangled up together like we're one person. I don't know about you, but I don't really do that shit with people who're just my friends." Clint chuckles and Bucky squeezes his hand. "When she's not with us, you complain that something's missin', and we both know it's (Y/N)."

Clint hums. "You're right."

Bucky cracks a smile. “I know I am.”

“Maybe we should tell her how we feel.” Clint searches Bucky’s face for any sign of reservation. “After everything we’ve been through together, and the way things are without her, I don’t think I can compartmentalize this.”

“I know.” Bucky scoots closer and Clint bumps his shoulder against Bucky’s. “I mean, we’re already pretty much together in every sense except the title.”

“Exactly.”

“We’re not going anywhere, ‘n she said she’s here to stay.” Bucky sighs. “Maybe we should tell her.”

Clint nods and they fall silent. Bucky can’t stop his mind from racing now, thinking about how (Y/N) will react when they tell her. Will she feel the same? Will she want both of them? The questions keep coming and his anxiety begins to spike, just as Clint starts to fidget beside him. He bounces his leg and bites at his lip, and Bucky can’t help feeling a little more calm knowing that Clint’s anxious too.

“How should we tell her?” Clint asks. “When should we tell her?”

Bucky shrugs. “I don’t know.”

“How do you not know? You’re the one who makes the plans!”

“Clint, all of this is new to us. But what we’ve got with (Y/N) is good-”

“It’s great, actually,” Clint mumbles.

“Exactly. That’s the point. We can tell her when it feels right.”

Clint nods. “Okay.”

“Okay.” Bucky pecks him on the lips and pushes him away from the desk. “Now get outta here, I have paperwork I gotta finish before we can go home.”

Clint grins lopsidedly, and leans forward on his knees. “You kissed me.”

“Sure did.” Bucky looks him over and smiles before he turns back to his work. “Dunno why you’re surprised, we’ve done it before.”

“It’s just that you don’t do it all that often.” Clint shrugs. “It’s kinda nice.”

“You could’ve told me. I’d do it more often.”

“I know.”

“You could kiss me too, y’know.”

“I know, it’s just…” Clint shakes his head and gets up from his chair. “I’ll leave so you can concentrate.”

Bucky sighs. “Clint, c’mere.”

Clint shuffles closer to Bucky, eyebrows raised. Bucky gestures for Clint to lean down and tips his head back, carefully pressing his lips to Clints. Clint slowly responds, moving his hand to the back of Bucky’s neck and humming softly. Bucky pulls back and Clint quickly kisses him once more.

“What was that for?” Clint asks.

“I love (Y/N), but I also love you,” Bucky murmurs.

“I know. I love you too.” Clint combs his fingers through Bucky’s hair. “We don’t say that enough, do we?”

“No, we don’t.”

Clint smiles and heads for the door. “I’ll be at the range. Come get me when you’re done.”

Someone knocks at the door, and I’m momentarily pulled away from my work. I poke my head out of the bedroom and stare at the front door, waiting to see if they’ll just go away. They don’t immediately knock again, so I take my seat and settle back into working.

Unfortunately, they knock again.

I sigh, close my eyes, take a deep breath, and calm myself before getting up and going to the door.

“If you’re selling something, I don’t want it,” I call. “I still have Thin Mints in the freezer from five years ago that I haven’t eaten.”

I open the door and freeze where I stand.

Kate stands in the hallway, purple duffel slung over her shoulder. She smiles and waves.

“Hey.”

“Kate?” My brows pull together. “What are you doing here?”

“I heard from a friend in the Avengers that you were kidnapped-”

“Wait, what friend?” I ask. “Clint didn’t tell anyone what happened.”

“I went to school with someone on staff, they overheard something and passed it on to me.” She waves her hand. “Specifics don’t matter-”

“They kind of do, Kate. That’s confidential information. The fact that they told you is a massive breach of the contract they signed when they were hired.”

“You didn’t tell me what happened to you, (Y/N)!” She plants her hands on her hips. “Do you know how fucking worried I was about you?”

“I’m sorry, Kate. I know it must’ve been stressful. I should’ve been in better contact.”

“Yeah, you should’ve.”

“I’m sorry, Katie, I don’t know what else to say.”

Her bottom lip wobbles and she launches herself at me, arms wrapping around my shoulders, her nose pressed to my neck. I stumble back into the entryway and my muscles immediately scream under the strain of holding her up. I wrap my arms around her to try and lessen the strain, but I’m still not back to my full strength. I can’t keep this up for long.

“I was so scared for you!” she cries.

I sigh and rub my hand up and down her back. “I know.” I try to set her down, but she just tightens her hold. “Katie, you gotta let go. I can’t hold you up like I used to.”

She promptly lets go and drops to the floor. She holds my shoulders and looks me dead in the eye. “What happened to you?”

“Lots of poking, prodding, and needles, with some torture added for flavor.” Her expression morphs into one of horror and I carefully move around her to close the door. “I’m fine.”

“You’re not fine-”

“I am fine. I’m home and I’m recovering. Clint and Bucky make sure that I don’t push myself too hard.” I walk out to the living room and Kate follows. “I’m not saying I’m healthy or better by any means, but I really am fine.”

“Are you sure?” Kate drops her bag by the coat rack and takes a seat at the kitchen island. “What about your strength?”

“It’s slowly coming back, but I was there for a little over a week before the guys found me. I’ve had just under a week to really recover.” I pass her a bottle of water. “It’s a process.”

“How’d Clint take it?”

“Well, Clint was pretty calm, but Bucky apparently tore through just about every thug that got in his way.”

“Oh?”

“As soon as we got back to the compound everything pretty much went back to normal. Took them a few days to clear me to go home, but things’ve been good since.” I smile to myself and lean against the kitchen counter. “It’s good to be home.”

Kate smiles. “So. Both of them?”

“Hm?”

“Clint and Bucky and you.” She links her hands. “Both of them and you.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, what’s going on there?”

“We’re really close. We always have been, but we’ve gotten closer since I got back.”

“Mhm, likely story.”

“There’s nothing more to it than that. You’re just looking for gossip.”

She rolls her eyes. “No I’m not.”

“Uh-huh, likely story.” I push off the counter and head back to the bedroom. “You’re welcome to stay, but I have to get back to work.”

“Oh?” Kate trails along after me and plops down on my bed when I sit at the desk. “You’re still employed?”

“Yeah, my clients were super understanding about the whole thing. The only problem lies in the fact that I’ve got two weeks of work piled up because of my little impromptu getaway.”

“Oh, wow.”

“Mhm.”

“How about I make dinner tonight?”

I stop typing and turn around to face her. “Excuse me?”

“I’ll make you dinner!”

“Please don’t.”

“I’ll go get groceries and make dinner when I get back. It’ll be great!”

“Kate, I love you, but you’re a shit cook.”

“I am not.”

“You can’t manage to cook a frozen pizza.”

She scowls. “I’ve gotten better since you left, and I’ll prove it to you.”

I sigh. “Fine.”

“I’ll be back before you know it, and the whole place is gonna smell amazing.”

I don’t say anything, and she hurries from the room and the front door opens and closes shortly after. I go back to work and barely notice when she gets back an hour later. I do what I can to ignore her as she rummages through my cabinets and drawers, but there’s only so much banging and clattering that I can block out.

Forty-five excruciatingly long minutes later, the front door opens again and I can finally relax a little.

I meet Clint and Bucky in the entryway and immediately wrap my arms around Clint’s middle.

Clint laughs and loops his arms around my shoulders. “Hello to you, too.”

I bury my face in his chest and mumble, “Please make it stop.”

“What?”

“Kate randomly showed up and decided she was gonna make dinner.”

“What?”

“I’m pretty sure she’s destroyed half the kitchen already.”

Clint kisses the top of my head and rubs the space between my wings. “I’ll take care of it.”

“Thank you.”

“Of course.” He moves around me and heads towards the kitchen. “Better figure out where we’re getting takeout from tonight, though.”

Bucky quickly takes Clint’s place and wraps me up in his arms.

“Sounds like you’ve had a rough day,” he says.

I nod. “I don’t really appreciate surprise visits.”

“I know you don’t.” He moves one hand to run his fingers up and down my neck, applying just enough pressure to relieve some of the tension. He hums softly when I relax against his chest. “You seem tense.”

“Because I am,” I mumble.

“Talk to me?”

“I… I’ve been working all day, and I was hoping I could try and get caught up, but then Kate showed up. She was upset that I didn’t tell her about what happened and then she was sad and she just launched herself at me and hugged me.” I shake my head. “If it’d just been a hug, I would’ve been fine, but I’m still too sore for that shit.”

“Is this okay, though?”

“Yeah, this is perfect. You know where and what to avoid.” I sigh. “I just wish my back would stop hurting.”

“Maybe I can help with that.”

“Would you?”

“Of course. Clint’s got Kate covered, it’s only fair that you get a back rub outta the deal.”

“I dunno if that’s how that works.”

“Well I’m not just gonna give you some Tylenol and call it a day. That’d be rude.” He takes my hand and leads me to the living room. “And also the barest fuckin minimum someone could do.”

Bucky takes a seat on the couch and has me sit on the floor between his legs. I lean forward on the coffee table and he starts moving his hands over my back, pressing his thumbs under my shoulderblades, and over the base of my wings before moving on to the small of my back. He works his way back up to my neck and I groan when he moves back between my wings. I push back against his hands and he obligingly digs his fingers in, earning a hum of approval from me.

“That good, huh?” I can hear the smile in his voice.

“Mhm.” I stretch my wings and he laughs. “‘S really nice, Buck.”

There’s a shout from the kitchen before something crashes to the floor. Bucky stops and I cover my face with my hands. Footsteps approach and stop just short of the coffee table.

“The hell was that, Clint?”

“I’m gonna lose my fuckin’ mind before this day is over,” I mumble.

“We’re definitely having takeout tonight,” Clint says.

He drops a bunch of takeout menus on the table, but I refuse to look at them and look up at Clint instead.

“We’re having Thai food.”

“What?!” Kate rushes over to join us. “I don’t like Thai food, though.”

“Kate, you fucked up dinner.”

“Yeah, but-”

“We’re having Thai. End of discussion.” I sigh and scrub my hands over my face. “What broke.”

“That white casserole dish you got from Tony a few years back,” Clint answers.

I squeeze my eyes shut and rub my temples. “I really liked that dish.”

“I know, (Y/N), I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry, too,” Kate says. “I’ll go clean everything up.”

“I think that’s a good idea,” Bucky mutters.

Bucky hands me his phone and tells me to order dinner while he gets me some Tylenol. As long as he’s known me, I wouldn’t be surprised if he could see the headache slowly spreading through my head. I quietly thank him and dial the number of the Thai place we used to regularly order from. I give them Clint’s name and they ask if I want the regular order.

“No, tonight we’re gonna need three chicken Pud See Ew, two seafood Pud Kee Mao, one chicken Pud Thai, all of those two stars, and then one order of fried rice with tofu.”

“Lots of company tonight?”

“No, we just want leftovers.”

They laugh and I ask them to deliver the food to my apartment instead of Clint’s. They oblige and let me know the food will be here in about half an hour. They promptly hang up and Bucky is back with the Tylenol and a glass of water before I can even put the phone down.

“You’re the best, you know that, right?”

Bucky laughs and hands the medication and water over. “I didn’t, but thanks.”

I hum and take the pills before hauling myself to my feet. “I’m gonna go back to work till the food gets here.”

“You sure about that?”

“Yeah, I’m still up to my eyeballs in first drafts. I’ll drown, if I’m not careful.”

“Don’t push yourself too hard.”

“I’ll try not to.”

I work until Clint pokes his head into my room to say the food’s arrived. It’s a little later than promised, but still hot enough to eat regardless. Everyone gathers around the coffee table to share each dish, but Kate sticks to the fried rice, as I thought she would.

When I finish my meal, I get up, kiss Clint and Bucky’s cheeks, and let them know I’ll be working for a while longer. Clint complains, but doesn’t do anything to stop me.

After almost an hour, the sounds of their conversation fade into white noise, and I barely even register them as I work. I wish I could be out there with them, but I know that there’s no way that I can reasonably expect to relax until I’ve made some kind of dent in my inbox.

It’s totally dark when Clint comes into the bedroom and drags me and my chair away from the desk. I protest, but he just closes my laptop and picks me up under my armpits.

“This is ridiculous,” I mutter. “I can walk by myself.”

“I don’t trust you not to go right back to work.”

“But there’s so much of it… Can you please just put me down?”

“Nope.” He tosses me over his shoulder. “Hurry up, Buck!”

“Where are you taking me?”

“Bathroom. You’re gonna get ready for bed.”

“But my pajamas-”

“On the bathroom floor, where you leave them every single morning when you get dressed.”

I sigh. “Sometimes it’s annoying that you know me so well.”

"Comes with the territory, sweetheart."

"I know… still." I whap him with my wing and he laughs. "Annoying."

Clint deposits me in the bathroom and leaves to check on Bucky. I shut myself in and get ready for bed, taking my time brushing my teeth and washing my face. When I'm done, Clint and Bucky are cuddled up in bed. They shuffle away from each other when I approach and I hold up a hand to stop them.

"I can spoon Clint tonight," I say. "I don't need to be between you."

"But we want you between us," Bucky says.

"I… why? I've been in the middle for a week. Don't you miss getting close to Clint?"

"We can switch things up some other night. But right now, I like knowing that you're safe."

"And we know that you're safe when you're sandwiched between the two of us," Clint adds.

"But one of you always wakes up with a mouthful of feathers. Wouldn't it just be easier-"

Bucky cuts me off. "Please don't fight us on this, (Y/N). We just wanna be close to you."

I nod and climb into the bed and lay between with my back to Clint. I fold my wings tight against my back, but Clint doesn't move closer. Slowly, I roll onto my stomach and extend my right wing to cover him. He shuffles across the mattress and presses his chest to my back. He relaxes when I settle against him and Bucky then moves closer and wraps his arm and Clint and I.

“Where’d Kate go?” I ask.

“She called America for a portal home,” Clint says.

“I didn’t mean to chase her off,” I mumble.

“You didn’t.” Bucky kisses my forehead. “She thought you needed someone to stick around with you for a couple of days, but didn’t realize that you’ve already got us.”

“I’m sensing something else happened.”

Clint laughs. “We gently explained that she stressed you the fuck out showing up like she did. She doesn’t always think before she does stuff like that, so she didn’t see it at first.”

“I did kind of ignore her though. Probably shouldn’t’ve done that.”

“You didn’t ignore her. You kind of go into your own little world when you’re working.” He pauses for a moment and presses his forehead to the back of my neck. “Kind of worries us sometimes.”

“Oh.” Clint’s arms tighten around me and I look at Bucky to see if he feels the same. He just nods. “I’m sorry.”

“You don’t have to apologize,” Bucky murmurs.

“But I do. And I’m sorry if I’ve been distant since we got back home, and I’m sure I have. I talked to my clients, and they were really understanding about the situation, but I’m still almost three weeks behind on my workload.” I sigh. “That’s not a good excuse, but I’ve just been so swamped that I’ve barely had any room to think about anything else.”

Bucky closes his eyes, and sighs. I can see the tension leave his body, and Clint’s hold on me relaxes. I reach back with my left hand and gently comb my fingers through Clint’s hair and take Bucky’s hand with my right. Bucky meets my eyes and I silently ask him to explain.

“We were worried that something about the barn was still messing with your head,” Bucky says. He squeezes my hand and holds it to his chest. “I know what that’s like, and I’d never want you to go through that alone.”

“Oh, Buck…” Clint mumbles something much to the same effect against my neck. “I didn’t mean to worry you. Either of you.”

“We’re always gonna worry about you, (Y/N),” Clint says. “We-I…”

Bucky finishes Clint’s sentence, saying, “We’re always gonna worry about you, because we love you.”

“You… me?” Bucky nods and I quickly sit up and look between both of them. “Both of you?”

“Yeah,” Clint rolls onto his back and looks up at me. “Both of us.”

“Oh.”

“We were literally talking about how to tell you when we were at the tower earlier.”

“We weren’t expecting an opportunity so soon, though,” Bucky adds.

“What about you two?” I ask, voice small.

They look at each other and smile.

“We love each other,” Bucky says. “And we have for a long time, but we’re not complete if our relationship doesn’t include you.”

“You’re our missing piece.” Clint shrugs. “I don’t know if there’s much to say past that.”

“Oh.” They’re quick to reassure me that they don’t want to pressure me into anything. I just laugh and shush them. “No, that’s not it. I’m just surprised.”

Clint frowns. “Really?”

“I mean… I didn’t doubt that you two loved me before, I guess I just didn’t want to assume that it was more than what we’d already expressed.” I sit back on my heels and sigh. “But more than that I just… when we were leaving the compound, it really hit me how much I love you two. How much being with you and having you in my life means to me, after everything we’ve been through.”

Bucky nods. “We just don’t wanna be quiet about it anymore.”

“I don’t either. But ever since I met the two of you, you’ve been my closest friends, and I…” I fiddle with the hem of my shirt. “I guess, I-I just don’t want any of this to change our relationship.”

Bucky props himself up on one elbow and covers my hands with his. “Nothing needs to change. Things are perfect the way they are.”

“I mean… it’d be kind of be nice to kiss you,” Clint mumbles.

“I think that kind of goes without saying,” Bucky says.

I laugh. “I dunno, that’s a pretty big change.” Both men freeze and I laugh harder. “I never said no.”

Clint grins and quickly sits up. He looks between Bucky and I and Bucky just shakes his head.

“Don’t look at me,” he says. “You gotta ask her.”

Clint shakes his head. “Right, I know.”

I reached out and ran the back of my finger over his cheek before cupping his jaw in my hand. His expression softens and he slowly leans in and presses his forehead to mine. Bucky laces his fingers with mine and I tilt my head to the side to press my lips to Clint’s. He readily responds, gently kissing me back, almost as if he’s worried he’ll scare me off. I pull away and peck him once more on the lips. Clint wraps his arm around my middle and ducks his head to kiss my neck. I laugh and shiver at the feeling of his stubble against my skin.

“How was it?” Bucky asks.

“It felt right,” I answer. I meet his eyes and he smiles. “Kind of like we’ve been doing it the whole time.”

“Yeah?”

“Mhm.” I wiggle my eyebrows at him and he laughs. “You want a turn?”

He sits up fully and places his hand on the back of my neck. “Of course.”

He traces his thumb along my jaw and I lean into his touch. Bucky leans in and bumps his nose against mine before brushing our lips together. I let out a shaky breath when he does it again and tip my head up to kiss him. He smiles against my lips and I hum softly. When he pulls away, he brushes his thumb over my cheek and smiles in the way that makes his eyes crinkle at the corner.

“That was nice,” I murmur.

“It was.”

“Definitely looked like it,” Clint says.

I laugh and Bucky wraps his arms around Clint and I. Somehow, they manage to comfortably situate me on both of their laps. I enclose the three of us in my wings and slowly relax into the warmth of their arms. Clint and Bucky figure out a way to kiss me at the same time, which only results in the three of us laughing.

Eventually we get too tired to stay upright and we collapse in a pile on the bed. Bucky pulls the covers up over us and slips his hand under my shirt to splay across the small of my back, just under Clint’s.

“I love you,” Clint mumbles.

“Me too,” Bucky says. “Both of you.”

My heart swells and I blanket them with my wings. “I love you, too.”

“G’night, (Y/N).”

“G’night,” I murmur.

My eyes grow too heavy to keep open and I drift off to sleep, wrapped up in Clint and Bucky’s arms.

I promised a happy ending, and here we are! I won’t lie, I’m kind of in love with this chapter, and I feel like it ends the series really nicely.

However, I’d love to know what you thought! I always love seeing your reactions, so please comment, reblog, like, and/or shoot me an ask!

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This fic:

“Even so-”

“What the hell is this about?” I cut in. “Because I was under the impression that this meeting concerned myself and the Avengers alone. Not you and your little government issued lackeys.”

“You’re awful hostile for someone speaking to her superior,” he ground out.

“Who, me?” I glance around at everyone in the room. “I’m a civilian and the Avengers are a private organization. I don’t work for you, Ross. None of us do.”

“You will,” he says. “When the Accords are put into governmental procedure.”

“See, I don’t know if you’re ever going to make headway with that little project of yours.” I shuffled around in my seat before leaning on the table. “Considering the fact that you refuse to work with one of the biggest players in this, who knows how many signatures you’ll get.”

“To what do we owe the displeasure, Thaddeus?” Tony asks.

Ross’ eye twitches. “You missed your deadline.”

“We were a little preoccupied in finding (Y/N),” Steve says. “As she said, she was kidnapped. You would know this if you’d read any of the correspondence we sent you concerning this.”

“And we wouldn’t be in this position if you’d quit running in circles and rejecting any kind of amendments we suggest,” Bucky adds. “We’ve been trying to work with you on this for months, yet you never seem to be able to make up your mind on what you want from us.”

“He wants complete and total control over the Avengers,” I say.

“Excuse me?” Ross grinds out.

“I said, you want to control the Avengers,” I repeat. I look to Natasha. “Did I stutter? I don’t think I stuttered.”

“Not that I heard,” she says.

I look Ross dead in the eye. “Do you need me to speak up? Or would it be helpful if I just signed instead?”

“(Y/N),” Steve warns.

I glare at Ross, but sit back in my chair. “Sorry.”

“You’re not in trouble,” Steve says. “But I don’t want you to say anything incriminating.”

I simply nod and keep quiet. Steve gestures to Tony, who stands to face General Ross.

“We weren’t planning on announcing this today, but we’ve given your proposal some serious thought, and we’ve decided to turn you down,” Tony says.

“You’re what?!” Ross hisses. “You can’t do that!”

“Can’t we? Because we’ve been operating independently for the past two years, and things seem to be going just fine. The only major incident we’ve dealt with since Sokovia-”

Ross interjects, “Which was your fault, if I’m remembering correctly.”

“Shut the fuck up, Thaddeus,” I snap. “You don’t get to interrupt people just because you’re a General.”

Clint snorts and I squeeze his knee in a silent plea for him to be quiet.

Tony clears his throat. “As I was saying, the only incident we’ve dealt with since Sokiva has been (Y/N)’s kidnapping. And we managed to find her just fine, no thanks to you.”

“And,” Natasha says. “If I’m remembering correctly, we’ve been fully functional since S.H.I.E.L.D. went under, even without asking for any assistance from the likes of you.” She tilts her head to the side and folds her arms. “And yet you expect us to just hand ourselves over to you.”

“You just don’t get it, do you?”

“No,” I say. “I think we understand perfectly. You think that the Avengers have too much power. The only way that you can see to ensure no one gets hurt is to put a leash on them. And I can see where you’re coming from, and your care for the public, if you can even call it that, is commendable. But this ass backwards, roundabout route you’re taking is absolutely fucking absurd.”

“You said you’re not part of this team!”

“I did, but I never said I didn’t have any kind of stake in whether or not the Accords are approved. I have powers, remember? I’m directly affected by whatever kind of legislation is put in place because of those Accords. But you could never understand that, because you’ve only ever seen people like us as power hungry egomaniacs. But look around.” I gesture to the room. “No one here asked for what we got. Bruce and I were accidents, Steve was a scientific crapshoot, regardless of how successful, Bucky was kidnapped and brainwashed and experimented on without his consent, Natasha and Clint’s backgrounds are questionable at best, and Tony was blown up by his own bomb. His first suit was built out of necessity, not curiosity or the need to seize power.”

“(Y/N)...” Bucky murmurs. He takes my hand and squeezes it gently.

“By all means, work with the Avengers. But quit acting like you’ve got the moral high ground, because all you've done is set up roadblocks and refuse to compromise in any capacity."

Ross looks down his nose at me. "You've got a lot of opinions for someone so vehemently against being part of their team."

"Well, you’re ready to imprison any single powered person who doesn’t sign, simply because you deem us to be threats.” I narrow my eyes. "But last I checked, you can't arrest someone for having opinions."

"Maybe not, but you certainly seem to know more about the Accords than what's been made available to the public-"

"We've kept her up to date with the proceedings," Steve says. "She has every right to know about something that would change the way she lives her life."

"That's not a decision for you to make."

Steve simply shrugs. "You never said anything about our discussions being confidential."

“Why you-”

“You do see the position you’ve put us in, right?” Steve presses. “We’re trying to work out ways to protect our loved ones, powers or no, and still do our jobs, but you keep blocking every single suggestion we make. You want us to cooperate, but you make it impossible.”

“You say that as if you’re not trying to bend the Accords to work for you.”

“No,” Tony says. “That’s what you’re doing. Your unwillingness to collaborate with just proves (Y/N) right. You don’t want to work with us. You want to control us. Because we’re not predictable, and that scares you and your little government buddies.”

Steve rises from his seat and stares Ross down. “See, we’d be happy to work with you. But that means working with us.”

Ross tries to protest, but shuts his mouth when Bucky stands abruptly. Bucky’s glare can only be described as glacial. No one says a word.

Ross shifts closer to Steve and Natasha shoots up from her chair. Clint, Tony, and I follow suit. I shake out my wings to make myself look bigger than I am and squint at General Ross. He’s startled to find all of us resisting him and turns back to Steve, only to find him with a similarly cold expression and his arms folded across his chest.

“If you’re not going to work with us,” Steve says. “I suggest you leave.”

“Fine.” He looks around the room at each of us. “But I will be back.”

“Until you’re ready to compromise, you’re not welcome,” Tony quips. “But we’ll gladly escort you out.”

Ross seems to know he’s been beat and makes a hasty retreat. His lackeys follow him from the conference room and down the hallway, back to whatever they arrived in. When I’m sure they’re gone, I sink back into my seat and cover my face with my hands. My heart is beating out of my chest and every ache from two days earlier is back with a vengeance.

“Are you okay?” Clint asks, placing a gentle hand on my shoulder.

I nod and turn to press my face to his shoulder. “Too much excitement for one day, that’s all.”

Clint hums in agreement. “I don’t think he’ll be back for a while.”

I laugh. “Of course he won’t, he got stared down by a room full of Avengers. He probably shat himself as soon as Nat stood up.”

“Of course he did,” Clint grins at Natasha. “She’s terrifying.”

Natasha snorts and Clint tries to make another joke to actually make her laugh. Steve watches them and I wait till I can catch his eye to say something.

“Is it safe to assume that wasn’t part of the plan today?” I ask.

Steve sighs. “No, it wasn’t.” He glares at the door. “General Ross seems to have a bad habit of showing up when he’s least wanted.”

“And ignoring anything he doesn’t want to hear,” Tony adds. “I swear, we sent him at least three notices about the delay, and he just ignored every single one of them.”

“You seriously put off negotiations to find me?”

“Of course we did, (Y/N),” Tony says. “You’re family. You know what we do for family.”

I frown. “Drop everything.”

“Exactly.”

“You didn’t have to do that.”

“Yeah, sweetheart, we did.” Bucky takes my hand. “We weren’t going to leave you behind after everything we did to find you last time.”

Tears prick at the corners of my eyes. I blink them away and whisper, “Thank you. All of you. Really.”

“There’s nothing to thank us for,” Natasha says. “Don’t argue with me about this.”

I laugh, but sniffle a moment later. “Okay, I won’t.”

“You wanna tell us why you actually wanted to meet?” Clint asks.

“Right,” Steve shifts in his seat. “We believe that we’ve apprehended everyone involved with your kidnapping, (Y/N). They’ll be tried and probably sentenced before the end of the month.”

“Oh, wow.” Surprised, I look between Steve and Tony. “I forgot how quickly you work.”

“We put in a rush order for our favorite Sesame Street character,” Tony says.

I laugh. “So I’m Big Bird now?”

“Well, you’re smart, you care about your friends and family, and you’re nice. Well…” He gestures vaguely. “Most of the time.”

“I’ll take it.”

Tony hums. “I started looking into Hoffman’s research, and it’s pretty grim stuff.”

“Oh?”

“A lot about genetic mutation and splicing animal DNA with human. From what Banner and I have found, she’d been doing this for a long time, and getting away with it, too. Based on her notes from the last five years, you’re her most successful experiment, and she didn’t even know you existed until six months ago.” He sighs. “I won’t go into too much detail, but the plans she had… she’s bad news in every sense of the phrase.”

“I got lucky, then.”

“I didn’t want to say that, but yeah. You did.”

“I see.”

“I’m sorry, (Y/N). You shouldn’t’ve been mixed up in any of this in the first place.”

“It’s not your fault. She would’ve caught up to me eventually. It’s not like ten foot wings are easy to hide.”

“All of that aside,” Steve says. “They’ll be going away for a long time. The rest of their lives, if we can manage it. They won’t be able to get to you ever again.”

I nod. “What’ll you do about Ross?”

“If we can manage it, we’ll keep pushing for reformed Accords. None of us want to be limited in what we can do, but it was easier to operate when we had the power of a government agency or two to back us up.” Steve shrugs. “If he can’t agree to that, we won’t be signing.”

“And you’re all cool with that?”

Tony nods. “We’ve argued over this for months, and getting your insight as someone on the outside helped as well. We’re not backing down from this.”

“Good. There’s no reason to roll over just because some dickhead bully demands it. He needs your support on this. He’s blind if he can’t see that.”

“Our thoughts exactly,” Steve says.

“Has she been cleared to go home yet, though?” Clint asks.

Steve nods. “She’s good to go as early as tomorrow morning.”

“Great,” Clint says, his relief obvious in his voice. “Simone has to go out of town on Saturday and without her, there’s no one left to dog-sit.”

Natasha rolls her eyes and Tony makes makes a joke about Clint’s loyalties lying elsewhere. I can’t pay attention to any of it, though. My thoughts keep straying back to what it’ll be like to be back in my apartment and away from the rest of the team. I can’t help thinking that it’ll be a little more peaceful, especially with the constant sounds of the settling apartment building around me.

Bucky squeezes my hand and I shake the fog from my head. “Hm?”

“You okay?”

I try to reassure him with a smile. “I’m fine. Just trying to plan what we need to do to get ready to go tomorrow.”

“We’ll head out bright ‘n early tomorrow. Okay?” I nod and he kisses my forehead.

“You’re sitting in the back, Clint.”

“What? You know I get carsick.”

“You don’t get carsick, you just don’t like the legroom in the back.”

“Can’t help that, Bucky, I’m a tall guy!”

Bucky rolls his eyes. “You know (Y/N) needs the front seat. She can’t sit normally because of her wings.”

Clint scowls. “Then let me drive.”

“Hell no, you’re a nightmare behind the wheel.”

“You’re no fun!” I clear my throat and both men look to me and smile. “Hey! You’re finally up.”

I shake my head. “I was up an hour ago, I just wanted to make sure I had everything.”

“Oh, right.” Clint strides across the driveway and takes my bag from me. “We were just-”

“Squabbling,” I laugh. “I know. It’s what you two do best sometimes.”

“We can do other things too,” he mumbles.

Bucky shakes his head and joins Clint and I. “Ignore him. He’s just grumpy because someone called about a burst pipe in the basement.”

“Oh shit.” Clint scratches the back of his neck and I place my hand on his arm. “Have you called someone yet?”

“Yeah, they already showed up, but it won’t be a cheap fix.”

“It’ll be fine, I’m sure. We can get it sorted out when we get back, right?” He nods and wanders off to pack up the car.

Bucky hooks his arm around my waist and I tilt my head up to kiss his cheek. “You’re looking better this morning,” he says.

“I slept really well last night. Probably has something to do with you two.”

“You give us too much credit, (Y/N).”

“I don’t think you give yourselves enough.”

He smiles and shakes his head. “I’ll go get the car set up.”

“Okay. I’ll be over in a minute.”

I stand back and watch them move around the car. Clint scoops up two more duffel bags, I assume they’re his and Bucky’s, from beside the car and places them in the trunk. Bucky puts the passenger seat down and I can see him roll his eyes when Clint sidles up beside him and says something close to his ear. Clint laughs when Bucky pinches his side and I can’t help smiling.

It suddenly hits me how thankful I am that I have both of them. I don’t know what I would do without them, or even where I’d be right now if they weren’t in my life.

My smile slowly slips away as I realize that I love them. Different from when we first met and more than I did when I left.

My heart flutters and I press my fingers to my lips, just letting the realization wash over me. I’m not scared. Just peaceful. This feels right.

“You okay, (Y/N)?”

I refocus and meet Clint’s eyes. “Hm?”

“You were zoning out,” he says. “Are you feeling alright?”

I smile. “I’m good. Nothing to worry about.”

“You sure?”

I nod and approach the car. “Mhm.”

He wraps his arm around my shoulders and kisses the top of my head. “Okay, good.”

“Help me into the car?”

“Of course.” He grins and gestures to the open passenger door. “Your chariot awaits.”

----------

Part 12

How’s that for an ending? I’m pretty fond of it, personally. I promise this isn’t the grand ending, but we’re getting close, I think. But for now, we know that the reader loves her boys, and that’s what really matters.

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This fic:

“I don’t… is she the woman from the barn?” He nods. “Right. I only knew her as the Doctor. No one used real names and I didn’t bother asking for any, but that doesn’t matter. Dr. Hoffman is the reason that I have wings.”

Clint appears beside the bed. “Wait, you fell into her vat of toxic waste?”

“From what she said, yeah, I think so.” I reach over my shoulder and scratch at my left wing. “There were others like me at one point, but I think they’re dead. She probably found them long before me, partially because I wasn’t supposed to exist.”

“How so?”

“I fell into a vat of whatever was leftover from her initial experiments, I think. That’s how I got my wings. She didn’t have an answer when her lackey asked when I was made.” He opened his mouth, but closed it immediately. “What?”

“What’d she do to you? And why?”

“Steve,” Bucky warns. “That’s enough,”

“It’s fine, Buck, I’d rather talk about it than keep it bottled up. Besides,” I reach out and he grabs my hand. “Considering I’m not dead, I probably got off easy. The rest weren’t so lucky.”

“Okay.” He sits beside me on the bed and envelopes my hand in both of his. “You can stop any time.”

“I know,” I murmur. He kisses the side of my head and I smile. Steve clears his throat and I cough awkwardly. “Anyway… the Doctor was incredibly clinical about everything right up until the last few days, but I think she freaked out after a couple guards saw Clint and Bucky lurking around. That was about when they belted down my wings and started actually leaving marks when they hit me. Partially my fault, if I’m being honest.”

“None of that was your fault, (Y/N).”

I nod. “Mm, yeah, except when I punched a guard in the eye and then intentionally egged them on.”

“Why would you do that?!”

“I don’t know! I was tired of being manhandled and jabbed with needles and dragged hither and yon at every hour of the day. When they were told to hit me, something took over and I told them to not puss out.” I laugh before realizing how morbid it sounds. “Stupid as it is, this really isn’t the worst I’ve been hurt. They didn’t really try all that hard when they came at me.”

“That’s still not okay,” Steve says.

“No, I know that. I should’ve kept my mouth shut, but they hadn’t gotten a single reaction out of me that they wanted since the first day. Their bark was entirely bigger than their bite.” I lean against Bucky and he sighs. “But in that moment, I realized that you’d found me. It was just a matter of time until you got me out of there.”

“Didn’t figure you’d be in Michigan,” Bucky mutters.

I rub my hand up and down his arm. “Still.”

“Was there anything else you learned about Hoffman?” Steve asks.

“No. I was unconscious during most of the tests. She didn’t want me moving around while she worked. Why?”

Steve shakes his head. “Everything we’ve been able to dig up on her leads back to A.I.M., but after that it’s a dead end.”

“Well that would make sense. A.I.M. focussed on genetics for a long time, right? Aldrich Killian weaponized it, but I doubt he was the first one in the agency to do so.”

“You’re right, but Hoffman hasn’t been associated with A.I.M. for almost twenty years.”

“Even better for her, right? If she’s not under their roof, no one can hover while she experiments on, and inevitably mutilate and kill, live, human specimens. Being out on her own was probably the best thing that happened to her.”

“That… that makes a lot of sense.”

“She probably dragged a bunch of disgraced A.I.M. grunts along with her when she left.”

“She did, actually. There were a handful of private contractors in her crew, but just about everyone has ties to A.I.M..”

“What about that wiry, ratty-looking guy?”

“We’re still looking into him. We don’t have an ID yet, but we do know he was weirdly strong.”

“What if he’s one of her experiments?” I ask. “He seemed to be really close to her, not in the way that an evil boss and henchman are close.”

Steve nods. “You’re probably right, I’ll make a note of that.”

“Thank you.”

Suddenly very tired, I lean heavily against Bucky. I shiver and he wraps his arm around my middle.

“You okay?” he asks.

I nod and mumble, “Just really, really tired.”

Steve takes this as his cue to leave and promises to get back to me with any new information he has before I’m released. I thank him and he quickly disappears out into the hall. Only when the doors close does Bucky help me lay down. He lays beside me and Clint drags a chair up to the side of the bed. He pouts and complains about the hospital bed being too small.

I laugh. “It’s stupid uncomfortable, Clint, You don’t wanna be up here anyway.”

“No, I really think I do,” he counters. “Bucky’s been hogging you since we got you back. I’m just waiting my turn.”

“Aw,” I poke Bucky’s stomach and he grabs my hand. “You couldn’t let him cuddle with me for a little bit?”

Bucky shrugs. “The bed’s uncomfortable. He’d hate it.”

“We could probably move to one of our rooms, if we wanted,” Clint suggests. “The beds would be more than big enough for the three of us.”

“Wouldn’t we get in trouble?” I ask, looking between Clint and Bucky.

Bucky glances over his shoulder at Clint, who gives him a pleading look. “I’m sure it’d be fine. We just have to be careful with you and keep an eye on your injuries.”

I nod. "Okay, let's do it, then."

I look up in time to see a grin flash across Clint's face before he can tamp down his excitement. He takes his time moving his chair back to the edge of the room and fiddling with something on the couch. Bucky helps me sit up, but refuses to let me walk to the room. Instead, he loops my arms around his neck and picks me up. He wraps my arms around his waist and signals to Clint that we’re ready to go.

"You got her bag?" Bucky asks.

"Of course I do."

"My bag?"

"I drove back into the city after we got you back and packed up some things I thought you might need," Clint explains. "Just some clothes and your tooth brush, but you can't wear a hospital gown the rest of your life."

"Thanks, Clint." I reach out and he takes my hand. "I really appreciate that."

He smiles and kisses the back of my hand. “Thought you might.”

Bucky’s room is closest and he uses me to lead Clint down the hallway, gently pulling him along by our linked hands. The three of us bundle through the doorway and Clint drops my bag in the chair next to the dresser. Bucky allows me to stand on my own and I move to sift through the bag on the chair.

I find a pair of soft leggings and immediately put them on in place of the thin boxers I was provided. I pull one of my shirts from the bag and stare at it, knowing full well that I won’t be able to wear it. It’s too tight and would rub against my still too sensitive skin. I sigh and let it fall back into the bag.

Clint places a gentle hand on my waist and asks, “What’s wrong?”

“I can’t wear my shirts. They’re too tight to get on with my injuries.”

“That’s not a problem,” Bucky says.

He pulls one of his shirts from his dresser and cuts two slits down the back from neck to hem. Clint helps me out of the hospital gown and I readjust the straps of my sports-bra before taking the altered shirt from Bucky. I yank the neck over my head and slowly slip my hands through the arms.

“Where’d you get this?” I ask. “It’s huge.”

Bucky shrugs. “Big shirts are more comfortable to sleep in.” He lifts the middle flap from my right wing, positions it between my shoulder blades, and ties the slits off at the hem. “Is that comfortable?”

I shake out my wings and nod. “It’s perfect. Thank you.”

I crawl into the unmade bed and lay on my left side. With one eye closed and the other slightly cracked, I watch Bucky change into a pair of sweats. Clint simply strips off his jeans and climbs onto the bed with me. He pulls me to his chest and pulls the covers up to my chin. Bucky slides in beside me and places his hand on my back. Clint rolls us slightly so that Bucky can press closer without crushing my wings. Clint’s hand presses between my wings while Bucky’s arm snakes around my middle. His hand splays out over my stomach and his warmth practically seeps into my skin.

“Are you sure you’re alright?” Bucky asks.

I nod. “I’m just sore now, for the most part.”

“Tell us where it hurts?”

“Pretty much everything from the waist up,” I say. “I think my arms got overextended when they chained me up.”

“I’m so sorry,” Clint murmurs.

“Sometimes it still feels like my wings are strapped down.” I sigh and scrub one hand over my face. “It’s hard to sleep when you guys aren’t there.”

Their arms tighten around me, but neither of them speak. With Clint and Bucky tangled around me, I feel so safe and secure that I can finally just relax. The silence that blankets the room is soothing instead of stifling. There’s no urge to explain away the pain or make excuses.

Bucky kisses the back of my neck and I cover his hand with mine. My body grows heavy and I slowly drift off to sleep.

The door slams open startling the three of us awake. I grip Bucky’s hand and both Clint and Bucky’s arms tighten around me.

“Bucky, she’s gone.”

It’s Steve.

“The hell are you talking about, Rogers?” I manage to say.

“But you-”

“Medbay is cold and silent. It’s easier to sleep here, with them.”

“We’ve got new intel, he says, breezing past what I just said.

“Okay?” I try to bury my head in the pillows. “It can wait till tomorrow.”

“But-”

“Go away, Steve,” Bucky says. “She needs her rest.”

“Yeah, Steve,” Clint muffles his snicker against the pillow. “Go away. She’ll find you tomorrow.”

Steve sighs. “Fine.”

He retreats and the door closes.

Bucky sighs and grumbles something about “getting out of here asap.”

“Steve said I’d be cleared before the end of the week,” I mumble. “I’ll bother him about it tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow is twelve hours away,” Clint says.

“No,” I poke his stomach and he laughs. “Tomorrow is whenever I can haul myself out of bed, and there’s no telling when that’ll be.”

“Mm, you’re hilarious,” he says dryly.

“It’s why you keep me around, right?”

Bucky snorts. “Go to sleep.”

“You didn’t answer my question.”

“You know that’s not why we keep you around.”

“But it’s one reason?”

“It’s a bonus.”

“Hmm,” I trace my thumb over Bucky’s knuckles. “An acceptable answer.”

“Sleep, (Y/N),” Clint mumbles. “We’re not gonna go anywhere.”

“Okay.” I nod, yawn, and press my nose to his chest. “Okay.”

-----------

Part 11

Finally, finally we can get away from the Hardcore Sad Times and back to interacting with Clint and Bucky (which I think is pretty great, just for my own peace of mind lmao.)

Anyhow, I’d love to see your reactions! I always like knowing what you guys thought, so please comment, reblog, and/or shoot me an ask!

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This fic:

“Alright.” Bucky nods. “Then we act now, before they can do anything to prepare for us.”

“Move fast, hit ‘em hard.” Steve nods once. “Understood.”

“Alright.” Clint looks around at the group. “Let’s do this.”

“No one is coming for you.”

“Okay,” I say simply.

My answer is rewarded with a slap across my face and I just let my head fall forward. My chin hits my chest and my eyes close of their own accord. I want nothing more than to curl into a ball and sleep, but the chains around my wrists keep me held up against the wall like some kind of bastardized crucifix.

“You’re ours,” the Doctor declares. She paces in front of me, but I can’t bring myself to look at her. “I will complete my research, and you’re going to help me do it.”

She slaps me again when I don’t say anything. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do anymore. She didn’t want me to fight back when she initially captured me, but was intrigued when I did the day before. When I talk back, she hits me. When I don’t react at all, she hits me. There’s no winning with this woman.

My legs begin to give out and the chains around my wrists start to dig in when they’re forced to hold up more weight. I wince and do what I can to keep my feet underneath my body, but I barely have the energy to lift my head.

Someone rushes into the barn and the Doctor stops pacing. They rattle off something that sounds urgent, that needs the Doctor’s immediate attention, but I can’t seem to focus on their words. She shifts back towards me momentarily and I turn my face away from her and squeeze my eyes shut. She makes a frustrated noise before hurrying out into the hallway, grunt in tow.

I give myself a moment to breathe before I try to stand at my full height. My legs shake, but I have just enough time to get a firm grip on the chains and wrap them around my hands once. With just that small adjustment, I can support myself better, even if I can’t fully stand, and the cuffs don’t dig into my wrists the way they did before.

There’s a shout from the hallway, followed by muffled thuds and groans. A herd of thugs thunder past the door. One voice stands out against the rest of the noise, barking out orders, only to be cut off by a distant explosion. A gun fires and I flinch.

Steve, Natasha, and Sam sneak into the main building, careful to not draw attention to themselves. Clint and Bucky don’t waste time with any kind of subtlety.

Clint blasts a hole into the side of the main building with an explosive arrow and Bucky moves through the rubble before the smoke clears. As soon as Clint joins Bucky, they're surrounded by goons. Bucky makes a mental note of the lack of identifying patches on their uniforms before he smacks one of them with the stock of his rifle and throws another into the wall. The man leaves a dent in the plaster and falls to the linoleum in a heap.

Clint takes down large clumps of men with net and putty arrows at the end of the hall opposite their destination. When he's finished, he joins Bucky in mowing through the guards blocking the way to the barn. They're not particularly careful as they go, not paying much attention to the force they use. They're more concerned with getting to (Y/N) than they are with the health of the people who kidnapped her.

They work quickly and methodically until no one is left standing. Clint signals to Bucky when he finds an open door, right about where they initially guessed the barn would be. They freeze as soon as they step through the door.

(Y/N) is strung up by her arms, barely able to keep herself standing. Clint cautiously approaches and finds her face turned away from them, her eyes squeezed shut. He glances back at Bucky, who looks like he wants to throw up, and his stomach clenches. He takes another step towards (Y/N).

“(Y/N),” he says softly. “Open your eyes.”

“Clint?” she croaks.

“Yeah, honey, it’s me. Bucky’s here too.”

Her eyes flutter open and she looks around the barn. Her grip on the chains tightens when she sees her boys. She shakes her head and presses her back against the wall.

“You’re not really here,” she whispers.

“We are,” he says. “I promise we are.”

Clint reaches out and brushes away the tear that’s rolled down her cheek. (Y/N) doesn’t flinch away from his touch like he thought she would. Instead, she presses her cheek to his hand and her bottom lip begins to tremble.

Clint motions for Bucky to come closer, and he slowly approaches, scared that he’ll spook (Y/N) if he’s too loud.

“We’re gonna get you outta here,” Bucky says softly.

He crouches down and breaks the chains at her ankles so that Clint can pick her up and relieve the stress on her wrists. Bucky then snaps the chains on both wrists and her arms fall around Clint’s neck. Bucky reaches up and ghosts his fingertips over her cheek and she blinks. They watch as she slowly realizes that they really have come for her and her face crumples. She covers her mouth with her and as she begins to cry and she presses her forehead to Clint’s chest.

“Come on.” Bucky turns to the door and Clint follows. “We’re leaving.”

“What about Steve, Sam, and Nat?”

“They can catch up.”

“They’re here?” (Y/N) asks. The scratchiness of her voice breaks Clint’s heart.

“Yeah, they helped us find you,” Clint explains.

"Oh." She takes a shaky breath and reaches out to Bucky. "Thank you."

Bucky takes her hand and kisses her knuckles. "Nothing to thank us for. We should've been here sooner."

Her head falls back to Clint's chest and all three of them bundle out to the hallway.

Leaving the facility is easy compared to getting in. Every single man they took out on the way in is still in a heap on the floor as they move through the hallway. Clint's arms tighten around (Y/N) as they near their exit point. As soon as they're clear, Clint and Bucky sprint back to the quinjet.

They slow as they reach the line of trees that hide the jet from sight. Bucky lifts his rifle and steps into the brush first. When he knows the coast is clear, he signals for Clint to follow. They lift the ramp as soon as they’re inside. Clint takes a seat with (Y/N) in his lap. He looks up when Bucky makes a sound akin to a growl and finds him with a knife in his hand.

“Bucky?”

“They put belts around her wings,” Bucky grinds out. He kneels at Clint’s feet and pulls one of the straps away from her feathers. She whimpers. “I’m so sorry, sweetheart, but I gotta get these off.”

(Y/N) just nods and presses her face to Clint’s chest. She presses her fist to her mouth to muffle her noises of discomfort as Bucky saws through the leather. As soon as he tosses the third and final strap to the side, Bucky takes a seat beside Clint and (Y/N) lets her head fall to his shoulder. He places his hand on the back of her neck and kisses the top of her head before tracing over her jaw with his thumb.

“I’m so sorry, (Y/N),” he murmurs.

She just shakes her head and loops her arm around his. “S’fine. Kind of my fault.”

“None of this is your fault,” Clint says. “You should’ve been home, safe.”

“But now I’m safe with you.” She grabs Clint’s hand and squeezes gently. “I knew you’d find me.”

Clint and Bucky look at each over her head. Bucky lets out a shaky breath and Clint nods, confirming that he feels the same. Relieved to have her back, but devastated seeing what she’s gone through.

Bucky’s earpiece crackles to life and he presses his finger to, saying, “What is it?”

“Where are you?”

“We’re on the jet. We found (Y/N) and got out of there.”

“Is she alright?” Steve asks.

“She’s injured and exhausted,” Bucky says. He kisses her forehead and she shifts against him. “But she’s alive.”

“Good. We’re just about finished here. Natasha and I are gonna stay behind and wait for reinforcements. We’ll join you upstate once we’ve rounded everyone up.”

“What about Sam?”

“He’ll be flying back with you.” Steve pauses and Bucky hears a heavy thud. “Did you really have to throw them into walls?”

“They were in our way.”

Steve sighs. “Sam’s on his way to meet you. I’m glad she’s safe.”

“Thanks for your help.”

“We’ll see you at the compound.”

The line goes dead and Bucky pockets the earpiece. He relays everything to Clint who simply nods.

By the time Sam makes it back to the quinjet, (Y/N) has fallen asleep and Bucky and Clint are finally starting to relax. They begin to doze as the jet rumbles to life.

I dozed off, somehow. My entire body is sore, and I can’t find the energy to move, but the quiet beeping edging into my consciousness is telling me to wake up. In spite of this, it still takes me several minutes to force my eyes open.

When I manage to crack open one eye, I find that the room is dimly lit by a single lamp in the corner. There’s a couch next to the lamp where Clint and Bucky are fast asleep. Clint has Bucky tucked under his arm and his head is tipped back against the wall as he snores softly. Bucky, with his head on Clint’s chest, has folded his arms and is scowling in his sleep.

Watching the two of them sleep, a feeling of peace washes through me. Clint shifts in his sleep and Bucky presses closer to his side and I smile. I wish I could be over there with them, but just being in the same room is enough for me right now.

I pull the thin blanket up, over my shoulders and hug my arms to my chest, careful to avoid the IV tube. The sounds of their deep, steady breathing lulls me back to sleep.

I wake again later, feeling significantly better than I had before. My back still aches, but I suspect it will for a while due to the abuse my wings took and the time that they were strapped down.

I stretch my arms out in front of me and then scrub my hands over my face.

With my eyes still closed I call out, “Bucky?”

Receiving no answer, I open my eyes and glance around the room, only to find it empty. The lamp in the corner is still the only light on in the room, and my eyes adjust easily. I sigh and slowly sit up. I can’t straighten my back fully yet, but leaning forward slightly allows me to extend my wings and stretch out my back. I stretch my wings out to their full length and I’m surprised when there’s no tug on my feathers.

I wrap my right wing around and am shocked to see that the tar that had covered the primary feathers is gone. I reach around to the left side and find nothing but soft feathers. Even better than clean feathers, none of them are missing. I remember when the Doctor had suggested trimming the tar from my feathers and knowing that wasn’t ultimately necessary almost reduces me to tears.

The sound of footsteps approaching in the hallway makes me freeze. I peek around my wing and wait.

“(Y/N)?” Bucky stands in the doorway, looking like he’s about to drop the phone in his hand. I shift towards the edge of the bed and he darts into the room. “Don’t move, you’re still hurt.”

I nod, but still turn myself to face him and fold my legs underneath myself. He slowly approaches, almost as if he’s worried about spooking me. He stops just short of the bed, and my fingers twitch with the need to have him just a little closer. Close enough to touch. To hold his hand. I reach out to him and curl my fingers into the hem of his shirt and tug him slightly closer. I hesitate a moment before taking his hand. Bucky readily weaves his fingers with mine and lifts our linked hands to kiss my knuckles.

“Please stay with me,” I whisper.

“Of course I will,” he says. He carefully takes my face in his hands and presses a tender kiss to my forehead. He pulls away and swipes his thumb over my cheek. “Of course I will, sweetheart.”

He pulls up a chair and sits beside the bed. He tells me to leave the IV alone and I laugh.

“I haven’t touched it, Buck.”

“Good. You need those fluids.”

“I know.” I squeeze his hands. A shadow appears in the doorway and I glance up and smile. “Clint.”

“You’re awake!” He drags a chair across the room with him and plants himself next to Bucky, only to immediately stand up again. “I wanna hug you so bad.”

I glance between Clint and Bucky, Bucky smiles and nods. I push myself up on my knees and wrap my arms around Clint’s shoulders. His arms circle around my middle and he presses his nose to my shoulder.

“I missed you so much,” I murmur.

“We missed you too,” he says. “We were so worried. I’m sorry it took us so long.”

“You found me.” I comb my fingers through his hair. “Just like I knew you would.”

“You left a note,” Bucky wraps his arms around Clint and I. “We knew you wouldn’t run off again.”

“Never.” I pull away to look at them. “Never again. You’re stuck with me.”

-----------

Part 10

So, how about that happy ending? That’s not the end of it, I promise, but it’s a good start. No more hurting anyone from now on, I promise.

That being said, I’d love to hear about your reactions! I always like knowing what you guys thought, so please comment, reblog, and/or shoot me an ask!

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This fic:

"What?" Clint turns on the rest of the kitchen lights and takes the paper from him. "She left a note?"

Bucky nods silently and Clint gently pulls him to his chest with one arm. He runs his hand up and down Bucky's back, hoping to keep him calm, while he reads the note.

Hey guys!

I don't know if you'll be back before me, but in case you are, I'm heading out to stretch my wings. After last week I think I need a little break, haha. It's 8:45 right now, but I'll stop by Clint's place to feed Lucky before I head out for the day. I'll have my phone with me if you need to get in contact.

See you when you get home!

(Y/N)

P.S.: I'm not running away again. I promise.

The note falls from Clint's hand and he wraps his arms fully around Bucky. It slowly sinks in that (Y/N)'s been gone for well over twelve hours and Clint begins to panic.

"Maybe she decided to camp out for the night," Clint offers. "She hates being cooped up for too long."

"No, she would've texted or called or something." Bucky takes a deep, shaking breath. "Something's wrong, and you don’t want to admit it."

“Of course I don’t wanna admit it, Buck. She’s-” Tears form in his eyes and he wraps Bucky tighter in his arms. “She’s our girl.”

“We gotta get her back.”

“We will.”

Bucky shakes his head and pulls away. “I can’t do this again. I can’t lose her.”

Clint wipes away Bucky’s tears and then his own. “I know. And we’ll find her. I’m gonna call Steve and Nat and Sam. We’re gonna get every single pair of eyes we can on this.”

Bucky covers his face with his hands and Clint tucks him under his chin. They stand silently in the kitchen until they’re able to speak again. Bucky takes a seat on the couch and texts Steve while Clint immediately calls Natasha. He can hear Bucky sniffle and has to force himself to stay where he is.

Natasha is not in a good mood when she picks up.

“It’s four in the morning.”

“I don’t give a shit, (Y/N)’s gone.”

“What do you mean she’s ‘gone’?”

“Bucky ‘n I just got home and she wasn’t here.”

“She probably ran off again. I know you don’t want to hear this, but she’s done it once, she’d probably do it again.”

“The fuck she would, she’s settled here, Nat. She wouldn’t just leave without telling us.”

“You don’t know that.”

Clint’s tempted to break something. “Nat, I’m telling you, she wouldn’t fucking do that. She wouldn’t do that to us. Not again.” His breath catches in his throat and he does his best to hold back his tears. “Please, Nat. We need your help.”

Natasha sighs. “Fine, I’ll be there in a bit.”

Clint sighs, relieved. “Thank you. Would you bring Steve with you? Buck’s getting in contact with him, but we need his help on this.”

“I’ll let him know.” She pauses. “Anyone else you want on this?”

“Sam,” Clint says. “He’s good at this kind of stuff. And I’m gonna call Tony and see if he can help at all. I don’t want him physically looking for her though. We’re already impatient enough as is without adding his stress to the mix.”

“Okay. See you soon.” She hangs up before Clint can say goodbye.

Clint sits on the coffee table in front of Bucky and takes hold of his shaking hands. “Nat’s on her way over with Steve and Sam.”

Bucky nods, but it’s clear that he’s still trying to process what’s happening. “Okay.”

“I’m gonna see if I can get Tony to help us track her phone.”

“Okay.”

“We’re gonna find her, Buck,” Clint murmurs. He kisses Bucky’s knuckles. “I promise.”

“You’re sure she didn’t just leave again?” Natasha asks.

“I’ve already fuckin’ told you, she didn’t just leave,” Clint growls.

“She left a note,” Bucky says. His voice is rough and makes Natasha do a double-take. When she sees his red-rimmed eyes, she realizes how serious this is.

“Can I read it?”

Bucky nods and points to the kitchen counter. Steve picks up the slip of paper and scans over it before handing it to Natasha. Her frown grows deeper the further she reads into the note. She opens her mouth to speak and Clint holds up one hand to stop her.

“We know she’s missing. Her laptop is still here and so is the rest of her stuff.” He wraps his arm around Bucky’s shoulders and sighs. “Like I said. She wouldn’t do this to us.”

“No, Clint I get that. Do you know where she would’ve gone?”

“North,” Bucky croaks out. “We were up there a couple weeks ago. She likes flying up there.”

“Did Stark manage to find her phone?” Steve asks.

Clint shrugs and checks his phone. “I think he’s still working on it. I’ll call him again-”

“No,” Steve says. “It’s alright, I’ll do it.”

Clint absentmindedly rubs circles against Bucky’s shoulder, trying to calm himself more than Bucky at this point. For all of his optimism, Clint knows how much he’s lost throughout his life. He’s lost his brother to the Swordsman, his childhood to abuse and the circus, his mother to his father… Hell, even his shitbrick of a father dying was a loss. But losing (Y/N) a second time overshadows all of that. There’s no time to mourn or process, just an overwhelming need to go, find, rescue. The urge to protect Bucky is there, too, but he knows that Bucky would never fall into his arms like a damsel in distress, even if there’s a tiny part of him that wishes he would. Wishes Bucky would let him take care of him. But he knows that taking care of Bucky means finding (Y/N) first.

Steve interrupts his thoughts, letting them know that Stark’s found the location, and Clint coaxes Bucky to his feet. He grabs his spare bow and quiver from his apartment before they leave the building.

Dawn breaks and brings even more anxiety with it.

They find her phone in the middle of the field Bucky had taken her to not even a month ago. Bucky's heart drops to his feet and he would walk away from all of this if it weren't for Clint's hand on his shoulder.

Bucky crouches down and picks up the phone. The screen is freshly cracked and the battery is nearly dead. He pockets the device and scans the surrounding area for any other sign of human life. He's about to say something when he notices that the top of a nearby tree has been snapped off. He reaches out to Clint and takes off as soon as he's got a hold of his hand.

"What is it?" Clint asks breathlessly.

"Something."

Clint knows better than to try and get anything more out of him when he's like this.

Bucky drags Clint to a clearing littered with crushed leaves, broken branches, and feathers that are too big to have come from any kind of bird. Both men freeze at the sight in front of them and Clint feels nauseous when he notices the dark, tar-like substance stuck to the majority of the feathers.

"I-I saw the broken off trees and I…" Bucky trails off and drops to his knees. "Oh, God."

Clint glances up from the carnage to see Sam hovering in front of a particular tree. He grabs something before he drops to the grass and walks over to Steve. Clint sees him say something about a bag and "Caught on a branch." His stomach clenches and he manages to force himself to walk over and investigate.

Sam turns as Clint approaches and holds out a tattered pack.

“I’m sorry, man,” he says. “This is all I could find.”

Clint reaches out with shaking hands and takes the bag. His breathing stutters. “Shit.”

“Is it hers?”

Clint nods. “Yeah. It’s hers.” He looks around the clearing. “The feathers are hers too, and they’re every-fucking-where.”

Clint watches Natasha prod at a clump of feathers. She frowns when she touches the tar-like goop and a string of it pulls away with her fingers. She scowls and walks away, making a note on her phone. Bucky’s wandered over to the one clear space in the middle of the grass and Clint joins him. He takes Bucky’s hand in his and hopes it’s at least a little comforting.

“She fell here,” Bucky murmurs, tracing a vague indentation in the grass. “And then it's like she just disappeared.”

Clint shakes his head. “She didn’t disappear, Buck. She was here. We’ll find her.”

He kisses the side of Bucky’s head and wraps him in a tight hug. Bucky hesitates, but slowly wraps his arms around Clint’s middle and presses his nose to his chest. Clint notices Natasha speaking with Steve and his brows pull together when she glances back at him before talking to Steve again. He sees her say “shot down” and “kidnapped” and the hopelessness starts to settle in again.

There’s something wrong with my left wrist. Probably a sprain. Both of my wings are sore from tip to shoulder, but I think I twisted my right wing on the way down to the ground. My ribs are probably fractured after snapping so many branches, and it’s hard to breathe. Secondary to all of that, every inch of exposed skin stings with little tiny scrapes and cuts.

I have to take my time in sitting up and wince when my wings stretch a little too far. There’s something that’s stopping my feathers from fanning out to the point that any kind of movement slowly becomes painful. I slowly extend my left wing, hoping to investigate whatever's stuck to my feathers and stare in confusion at the mess of black goo covering the majority of my secondaries. Cautiously, I reach out and try to remove some of it, and I only succeed in pulling a feather loose. I swear and flick the goo that came away on my fingers to the floor.

I sigh and try to fold my legs underneath myself, but my motions are inhibited by a pair of shackles around my ankles. A long length of chain tethers the shackles to the floor. With that, in combination with the crippling soreness that's starting to settle deep into my bones, I realize that I'm not getting out of here any time soon. Wherever here is.

I shuffle back until my back hits the wall and my eyes slowly begin to adjust to the low light in the room. It looks like I’m being held in a small barn. Little slivers of light creep through cracks in the walls and fall across my hands, revealing every little cut and scrape. I sigh and angle myself so that I can reach the goop on my left wing. I lick the pads of my fingers and try to work some of the stuff from my feathers. It’s slow going, but I manage to avoid pulling out any more feathers.

Eventually, I can’t keep up with cleaning myself, and exhaustion settles in every inch of my body. I curl into myself and doze off.

“An excellent specimen, Doctor.”

I don’t recognize this voice. The sounds of conversation slowly creep in at the edges of my consciousness. I keep my head down and just listen.

“As it should be, I made the serum!”

“When was she made?”

“I can’t be sure. It was not a procedure that I performed. I believe she was an accident.”

“Ah, well, you know what Bob Ross says.”

The second voice laughs. “I think you’re onto something, there, my friend.”

It takes a moment for it to register that these people are the reason I have my wings. And they’re just talking about me like I’m some kind of animal. An experiment.

One of them begins to pace in front of me. “It appears that she’s been sleeping for nearly twelve hours. Should we be concerned?”

“No, the serum imparts a sort of healing factor. The fastest way for her to heal is to sleep.” The shift and their shoes scrape along the concrete floor. “That being said, I don’t know the extend of her injuries. And her breathing has changed since we started speaking.”

The one pacing stops mid-stride. “She’s listening.”

“Precisely.”

Their footsteps approach and I panic. Fingers sink into my hair and wrench my hair back. I’m forced to look up at the woman who had previously been referred to as the Doctor. Out of the corner of my eye, I can just barely see the wiry young man that holds my head back.

“What should we do with her?” the young man asks. “Do you think she’s ready for tests.”

“Please,” my voice comes out scratchy. “Please, don’t.”

“I’m not sure,” the woman says. She begins to pace. “On the one hand, I’ve been waiting for weeks to capture her. Her strength and speed are unlike any of our previous subjects. I’m curious to see what makes her different from the others.”

“But?”

“But she’s been very clearly hurt.”

The man’s hold on my hair tightens and I whimper. He just tugs harder and I force my hands to stay where they are in my lap.

“We’ve been very careful in the past,” he says slowly. “We’ll sedate her. Keep her limbs still. She won’t feel a thing.”

“That is true…” I catch the wicked glint on her eyes and my stomach churns.

The young man laughs in my ear. “Excellent.”

“We’ll have to trim the tar from her feathers.” The doctor shakes her head. “Shame. They’re so beautiful.”

“Don’t touch my wings,” I plead. “Please.”

They just carry on as if I’ve said nothing. I watch the man grin, his eyes crazed. The doctor gestures towards the door and several large figures bundle into the barn. They all stalk over, arms outstretched and ready to grab me. I try to shrink away, but the man holding my head is stronger than he looks, and I can’t move an inch.

Hands latch onto my wrists, ankles, and wings, and I cry out in pain. I go limp in an attempt to make myself too heavy to carry, but they just twist my wings back to fold them. I bite down on my tongue to keep every whimper, groan, and sob from surfacing. My wrist and right wing scream out white-hot pain and, each time they jostle me around, a new jolt of pain lances through my body.

The three men dump me face down onto a metal table and roughly strap my arms and legs down. I beg them to leave me. To let me go. To just let me go. Nothing I say seems to reach their ears and tears streak down my cheeks by the time they wench my wings down to the table. Two large clamps descend from the ceiling and pin my wings to the table. I’m stuck and in pain.

The doctor appears at the edge of the room and she slowly approaches me. She seemed hesitant earlier. Maybe there’s some way I can reason with her?

“Please, don’t do this,” I plead. “You don’t have to do this. Please.”

She grabs my face and turns it from side to side. I whimper and pull against my restraints when she twists my head a little too sharply.

“You don’t understand,” she says. She presses my cheek to the table and my entire body seizes up as I feel someone slowly inserting a needle into my neck. “I want to.”

Her manic grin is the last thing I see as the world goes black. The hum of electricity fills my ears and my body goes completely limp.

-------

Part 8

So that was a ROUGH chapter, but I promise that there will be a happy ending I just need you guys to trust me on this.

If you’d like to yell at me, absolutely comment, reblog, and/or shoot me an ask.

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This fic:

“Not yet.”

I whip around to find Natasha and Steve stepping into the room. I sigh heavily and drop my bag to the floor. Steve folds his arms across his chest and Natasha follows suit.

"I'm surprised Bucky's not here," Natasha continues.

"He got stuck at the tower last night with work. Otherwise, he would be," Clint explains. He pushes himself up onto his elbows and looks directly at her. "What're you doing here, Nat?"

"You weren't home, figured we'd try the one other place you've been known to disappear to." She looks very pointedly at me and I pinch the bridge of my nose. “Why didn’t you tell us you were back?”

“Because I’m not,” I answer. “I’m in town. That’s it.”

“We know you were up near the Compound last week, (Y/N),” Steve says. “Why were you anywhere near there if you’re not back?”

“Bucky took me upstate to stretch my wings. It’s harder to do so unnoticed in the city.”

“Why were you near the compound?”

“What is this with this interrogation?” Steve simply raises his eyebrows, silently telling me to answer the question. I sigh and shake my head. “I got a little off course and didn’t realize where I was until it was too late. I redirected as soon as I saw the first building, but even then I was probably half a mile away, maybe more.”

‘I see.“

“How’d you know it was me anyway?”

“Asked Sam what got picked up on the scanner. He said it was just a big bird,” Steve explains. “But, you’re way too big a blip to just be a big bird.”

“No, she’s a big ass bird,” Clint corrects. “Massive difference.”

“Clint, you’re not helping,” I say. I perch on the bed beside him and he reaches out and places his hand on my knee. “Still doesn’t explain why you decided to make the trip out here to see us.”

“We just wanted to see you for ourselves, (Y/N),” Natasha says. “It’s been two years. You can hardly blame us for needing to double check.”

“Could’ve just asked.”

“You say that like you would’ve actually answered.”

“You wouldn’t have to ask me. Clint and Bucky are more than capable of giving you the information.” I press my lips together. “This is exactly why I didn’t tell anyone I was coming back.”

“Then why did you come back?” Natasha asks.

“Because I missed my idiots.”

“Aw,” Clint squeezes my knee. “You’re so nice, (Y/N).”

“Nah, I’m an asshole. Everyone knows it.”

“Mm, yeah, but we’ve always hoped for better from you,” he says, dumb smile on his face.

I snort. Everyone’s head turns when the door opens and shuts. Keys clatter against the kitchen counter and I sigh in relief.

“(Y/N)? You here?”

“In the bedroom!” I call back.

Bucky wanders into the room, yanking his sweatshirt over his head. Clint laughs when he nearly crashes into Steve. He just barely misses, but looks around in confusion when he can finally see again.

“The hell is this?” he asks, gesturing between Steve and Natasha.

“She couldn’t get through the window fast enough,” Clint explains.

“Clint, that’s even more confusing,” Bucky says.

Clint gestures with a flourish. “I live to serve.”

Bucky shakes his head and skirts around Steve and Natasha before crawling onto the bed and sprawling out between Clint and I. I squawk at him about having his shoes on my duvet and he kicks them off onto the floor. He shuffles up the bed and props his chin up on my calf. I comb my fingers through his hair and he sighs and melts into the mattress.

“We’re fine here, guys,” Clint says. “(Y/N) is working on her own deal, and Bucky and I are still obviously engaged with the team. Our priorities haven’t changed.”

“Are you sure?” Natasha asks.

“Nat, we spent two years looking for her and now we’re coming home to her at the end of the day. So, yeah,” he glances over at me and smiles. “I’m sure.”

“Fine.” She grabs Steve’s arm and steers him out of the room. “We’ll see you bright and early on Monday, then.”

Bucky and Clint wave to them as they leave and, only when the door closes for the final time, do we allow ourselves to fully relax. I coax Bucky onto his side and shimmy down the bed to lie beside him. He wraps his arms around me and keeps his metal arm held tight to my body while stroking one of my wings with the other to avoid pinching.

“So it seems like you guys’ve had an eventful day,” Bucky mumbles against my shoulder.

“(Y/N) slammed the door in their faces,” Clint says.

“Oh shit, really?”

“Yeah. Then she tried to climb out the window to get away, but her wings are too big and she can’t get through this one.”

“No, my wings are fine,” I correct. “The window’s too small.”

“Ah, ” Bucky hums. “Blaming windows, now, are we?”

I flick his ear and he laughs. “I am not blaming windows.”

“Then what are you blaming?”

“Myself for not finding a bigger window.”

“Oh, duh, obviously.”

I shake my head and press a little closer to his chest and reach out for Clint with one hand. Clint takes it and laces our fingers together. Clint curls himself around Bucky’s back and asks him about his day. Bucky complains about being stuck at the Tower the entire day yesterday, forced to sit in an hours long conference with General Ross, debating the viability and sustainability of the proposed Sokovia Accords. Steve, Bucky, Tony, and Rhodey had entered the call having read everything in the packets they’d been provided multiple times and had essentially been talked at and over the entire time they were in the conference. By the end of it, even Tony was starting to lose his cool, and he’d gone into the call most willing to comply with the Accords.

“So Ross acted like he wasn’t talking to a handful of the world's most dangerous people?” I ask.

“I could pop that guys head like a pimple, and he acted like I was a dumb little three year old,” Bucky says. “Steve was able to stay calm enough to get in contact with a few other people who helped draft the Accords and we were allowed to write up our own edits, but we have twenty four hours to do so.”

Clint sighs. “What time did you manage to get to sleep last night?”

“Five in the morning, I think. Can’t really remember. We worked in shifts with the rewrites, so I think Stark and Rhodes are working on it right now. Steve’s gonna have Nat go back through and see if there’s anything she’d add before we throw the damn thing at the General’s fuckin head.”

“I could help, if you want,” I offer. "I've got great aim."

Bucky laughs. "Thanks, but I'm pretty sure that'd get us into more trouble than we're already in."

“Ah, well, maybe next time then.”

Clint snorts. “You two hungry at all?”

“Eh,” Bucky responds. “I could eat. (Y/N)?”

I shrug. "I'll probably want something by the time we finish cooking."

Clint grins at me over Bucky's shoulder. "Great. What's on the menu, guys?"

Tuesday morning, the door flies open at exactly 10:35. I'm standing in the middle of the kitchen, breakfast in hand, and nearly drop the bowl at the sound of the front door slamming into the wall.

"Hope you're decent, cause I'm coming in anyway!" a familiar voice calls.

I groan and put my breakfast on the counter. “Go home, Tony!”

He appears from the entryway and grins. “That’s no way to treat a guest, (Y/N).”

“I didn’t invite you!”

“I’m happy to see you, too.”

I roll my eyes. “Why are you here?”

He walked through the apartment, looking around, his head tilted to the side. “Heard my favorite winged killing machine was back in town, and I had to see it for myself.” He frowns at my furniture before he looks back at me. “You still live in this dump?”

“It’s not a dump, it’s my home. Clint does a great job of maintaining this place.”

“It’s a run down tenement building.”

“It’s an old ass brick building in the middle of New York City. It’s holding together as best it can. That doesn’t mean it’s a dump.” I lean against the counter and silently beg him to leave. “If you just wanted to see if I was here, you’d buzz by in one of your suits, but that’s not the case. So, why are you actually here?”

“So suspicious.” He tuts and shakes his head. “What do you take me for?”

“Someone who doesn’t have a lot of normal friends.”

“Did you get meaner while you were gone?”

“Tony, you broke into my home. I’m allowed to be a little mean.”

He sighs and his shoulders slump slightly. “Fine, I need someone to talk to, and I know you won’t judge me.”

“Why didn’t you call ahead? I’m assuming Steve and Nat told everyone I’m back.”

“I figured you’d find some way to be out when I showed up.”

“Tony, I have a job and I work from home. This is the only place I’d be.”

“A job?”

“Yes, a job.”

“I’m impressed.”

“Oh, fuck off.”

“Will you at least hear me out?”

“I don’t know, Tony, I’ve got a lot to do today…” He hits me with his puppy-dog look and I cave immediately. “Fine, you can stay. But you have to let me work while you talk.”

“Won’t that distract you?”

“No, I need external stimulus when I work sometimes. Usually that’s music, but I guess you’ll do.”

Tony launches into a long explanation of the issues with the Accords while I set up my work stuff for the day. I interject where I can and he seems surprised when I manage to keep up. I simply finish my breakfast and do the dishes before starting on work for the day. When Tony starts pacing, I turn slightly on the couch so that I can face him. After a bad experience with Bruce a few years back, Tony needs to know that the person he’s talking to is paying attention.

Tony keeps at it for three hours before he stops to ask for a glass of water and starts up again when he’s hydrated. By the end, I’m starting to understand how Bruce could fall asleep while Tony talks.

“Does that make sense?” Tony asks.

“Honestly, I totally get where you’re coming from, but none of that shit in Sokovia was your fault.”

“I don’t know...”

“Tony, you did what you could when it was happening, and even more after the dust settled. There’s no going back to fix that now. But do you honestly think that the Accords are a good idea? I mean, Bucky was talking to Clint and I about them a few days ago and they sound awful. Like literal grade-A bullshit.”

“Really?”

“I don’t know about you, but if I were being attacked on the street, I’d want someone to help me right then and there, not ask their boss for permission first. What if people are in danger and your superiors decide that they’re not a priority?”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, oh. And on top of that, people like me, people with powers and shit, just minding our own business, could potentially have to sign. If we don’t we could face prison time.” I sigh. “I’m not saying you’re wrong on any account, because it’d be great if the Avengers could get help from government agencies again, but I don’t think this is the right way to do it. Especially when you’re so used to being your own boss.”

“Right, but-”

“Tony, you asked for my opinion. I’m not gonna tell you that I’m one hundred percent right, this is just how I feel. I know that Steve and Bucky are pretty on the fence with the Accords as well.”

“That’s true.”

“I know Ross sent your revisions back, but you have to keep pushing this until they give up on the document, or you get your way. Just… whatever happens, you have to stick to your guns.”

“Right. I need to trust my gut.”

“That’s not what I said.”

The front door opens and Tony and I both look to see who it is.

“(Y/N), we’re back!” Clint calls.

“Oh, so he can come and go as he pleases, but I show up and you’re mad?”

“He has a key, and he’s not breaking down my door. Yes he can come and go as he pleases.”

Clint and Bucky stop short as they enter the living room.

“Didn’t realize you’d have company today,” Bucky says.

“I didn’t realize I’d have company today,” I shoot back. “He invited himself in.”

“That’s not nice, Tony,” Clint admonishes. “You know how private she is.”

Tony scowls. “I needed her advice!”

“Call ahead next time.”

Tony shakes his head and pushes himself up from the chair he eventually settled in. “I’ll take this as my cue to leave.” He stops just before he reaches the entryway. “Will we be seeing you around at all?”

I shake my head. “Probably not, no.”

“Shame.” He waves over his shoulder as he heads for the door. “I’ll be in touch.”

The front door closes one last time and I close my laptop and lie down on the couch. Clint sits on the floor in front of me and places my laptop on the coffee table.

“How long was he here?” he asks.

“Hours. Literal hours. He wanted to talk about the Accords.”

“Seriously?”

“I think he’s kind of waffling on his stance with the whole thing. Blames himself for the stuff that they’re citing as the reasons behind the Accords. But that’s bullshit, because they’ve probably been trying to figure out a way to put a leash on people like us for years, Sokovia was just the catalyst.” I turn over onto my front and sigh. “I don’t wanna be someone’s therapist!”

“Definitely not a good idea. You’re not qualified.”

“Super not qualified!” I cry.

“Well,” Bucky says. “He’s gone now, so we might as well chill out and have dinner.”

“What’s for dinner?” I ask.

“Takeout from the Chinese place down the street.”

“Ooh,” I push myself up from the couch. “I love their sweet and sour pork.”

Bucky smirks. “I know you do.”

I bound over to the kitchen and hug him tightly. “You’re the best.”

He laughs and I squeal when he hooks his hands under my thighs and picks me up. “I know I am.”

“Alright, strongman, put me down. Dinner’s getting cold, and Clint’s probably hungry.”

Bucky lets go and kisses the side of my head as soon as my feet touch the floor. We grab plates and flatware and set up the food around the coffee table. We eat and talk and laugh, and Clint eventually misses his dog and goes back to his apartment to get Lucky. Bucky leaves on a mission in the morning and has to go back to the tower. I go to bed alone.

Over the next week I see a pretty steady stream of old friends waltzing through my door. Sam drops in on Thursday to apologize again and overstays his welcome by two hours. Bruce stops by on Friday to drop off a tin of tea and a book he’d been holding onto since I left. I refuse to turn him away and ask if he wants to stay and stare a pot of tea. We talk for a few hours and I hug him before he leaves. Saturday sees Wanda, Natasha, and Rhodey in quick succession and I take to hiding in Clint’s apartment because I don’t have either him or Bucky through the weekend to act as a buffer. Bucky and Clint leave for a long mission Sunday night and by Tuesday, I’m able to go back to work in my own apartment. I finish my final project by four in the evening and let myself relax for the rest of the night.

Wednesday morning, I wake up restless and decide to go flying. I pack myself snacks and water and leave a note for Clint and Bucky in case they’re back before I am. Before I leave I drop by Clint’s apartment to feed and love on Lucky for a little bit. When I’m thoroughly covered in his hair, I say goodbye and head up to the roof for takeoff.

Flying through the city is different from the country. I have to fly higher than I’d like in order to get out of the smog, and even then I have to worry about avoiding buildings. For all it’s wonders, New York City feels like a bunch of hazards all shoved together and populated past it’s bounds. But still, it’s home. Apparently.

I decide to see how far I can get before my body forces me to turn around, and I get distracted enough while flying north that, without realizing it, I reach the field that Bucky took me to a couple weeks back. It looks just about the same as I remember it, even as the early morning fog dissipates. I take a couple of laps around the field before I decide to move on.

As I near the treeline, something hurtles towards me, and I just barely manage to dodge it before it hits me. I glance over my shoulder, and assume it was a drone or something when I can’t see what it was. I shrug and fly out over the forest. Something comes at me again, this time hitting the primary feathers of my right wing and coating them in a thick, heavy substance. I lose altitude immediately and try to shake whatever it is off. The substance won’t budge, and my left wing is soon hit with another projectile. I try to turn around and get away, but whatever’s on my wings is too heavy and I can’t seem to keep moving. I cry out as I fall to the treetops below.

I crash through several trees on my way down and my pack gets caught on a branch, nearly strangling me until I manage to unclip the strap. Unclipping my bag sends me tumbling to the forest floor and I fall flat on my face, unable to catch myself in time.

Shadows loom over me and I try to get up, only for someone to place their boot between my shoulders and hold me to the earth. I yell and struggle, to no avail and an unseen figure lifts my chin and presses a rag over my nose and mouth. I tell myself not to breathe, but something in me overrides every rational thought. My limbs grow heavy and dark patches start to creep in at the edge of my vision.

I stop moving, and everything goes dark.

----------

Part 7

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This fic:

“Don’t put this on Tony,” Steve says. “He’s already made himself sick worrying about her.”

“I don’t know what else to do here, Steve. Either we put a team together and get our asses in gear, or I’m going to start tearing the countryside apart till I find her.”

Steve sighs. “Fine. You and Clint start your search. I’ll work with Nat and Sam on this end and we’ll do what we can to help.”

Bucky pauses and looks Steve over. “You sure?”

“Yeah. You have an idea of where to start, so you should go with that. We’ll get everything sorted out here and keep you updated.”

Bucky nods. “I’ll be in touch.”

He breezes out of the room, immediately in search of Clint. Steve sighs and calls Natasha and Sam to meet him.

Clint is with Natasha when Bucky finds him. He places his hand on Clint’s shoulder to get his attention and Natasha excuses herself from the room.

“What is it?” Clint asks.

“We’ve got the green light to start looking for her.”

Clint shoots up from the couch. “Really?”

Bucky nods. “Steve almost didn’t agree.”

“You threatened him with Tony, didn’t you.”

“Yes.”

Clint almost laughs, but clamps his hand over his mouth. His hand moves to the back of Bucky’s neck and he presses their foreheads together.

“We’re gonna get her back, Buck.”

“I know.” Bucky wraps his arms around Clint. “We should leave soon.”

“Yeah,” Clint sighs. “Come on. Let’s get the hell outta here.”

“They’ll find me,” I whisper to myself. “I left a note. They’ll find me.”

With my head between my knees, I close myself in my wings. I rock back and forth, trying to find some kind of comfort in myself. I don’t have my shoes anymore and my pant legs are little more than shreds at this point. The jacket I wore when I first arrived is long gone and my shirt was traded out for a thin tank top a long time ago, leaving me with little more than my own down to keep myself warm.

I don’t know where I am or how long I’ve been here, but I do know that Clint and Bucky would never leave me here to rot. Just thinking about how worried they must be brings tears to my eyes. Guilt settles in my stomach and I swipe my tears away before they fall. Crying isn’t going to get me anywhere, and it’ll definitely just leave me more dehydrated and sore than I already am.

The door slams open and I jerk my head up, but hold my wings tighter around me. Through gaps in my feathers, I can see their shadow as they move through the barn. I watch as they pace around the space in front of me. They stop abruptly and I clamp one hand over my mouth to muffle my gasp when they approach me. They grab the chain attached to the manacles around my ankles and I silently beg them to drop it. They take several steps forward with the chain in their hand and they chuckle when they see me curl around myself even further.

Finally, they drop the chain and stop just in front of me. I bite down on my fist in an attempt to stay as quiet as possible.

“Arm.” I don’t say anything or move, and they kick me, laughing when they hear me wince. “I said arm, you dumb fucking bird.”

I slowly extend my right arm between my wings and they grab my wrist and yank me forward. I fall forward onto my knees and catch myself with my left hand. I refuse to look up at them, knowing that they’ll only try to hurt me further.

I’ve realized, in the time that I’ve been here, that they need me alive and in one piece for their tests, but they don’t necessarily care about hurting me. This man is no exception.

“Y’know,” he says idly. “I can’t figure out why they care about keeping you alive. They never did with the others. Went through the first ones like wildfire.”

He jabs a needle into my arm and I turn my face away to avoid the sight of my own blood. He doesn’t do anything to hurt me further, but I still flinch when he pulls the needle out. I shiver and clutch my arm to my chest when he lets go and I see his shadow shake its head.

“They think you’re somethin’ special, but I don’t see it. You look just like every other bird freak that’s been through here. Only difference is that you’re alive and awake.” He crouches down and tips my head up with a finger under my chin. I can see the detachment from what he’s doing in his face, which makes my anxiety spike. “You haven’t been nearly as interesting as the rest, though. Don’t struggle as much. Why?”

“I don’t know,” I croak out.

“Huh.” He grabs my jaw and tips my head from one side to another. “They’ll take you apart, one little bit at a time, till there’s nothing left. You know that, right?”

“Oh.”

“Mmm, and I’ll be there to see it, too. Might even get to help out a little.” His grip on my jaw tightens and I whimper. “I look forward to it.”

I can't stop myself from asking, "Why?"

"You're so innocent and scared." He squeezes my cheeks and his face morphs into something crazed and animalistic. "That little doe eyed look is exactly why."

I don’t say anything and the light in his eyes seems to dim as he loses interest. He shoves me to the side and gestures for someone at the door before he stands up and walks off. Someone new shuffles in and crouches in the same place as the man before. They reach out to my arm and I jerk away from them, only succeeding in cracking my head against the wall. They sigh, shuffle closer, and press two fingers to my pulse. They take their count and then grab at my arm again, and their fingers wrap around my wrist.

“You’re ice cold,” they say.

“I sleep in a fucking drafty ass barn, of course I’m cold,” I mutter.

They hum and squeeze my wrist momentarily before standing and dropping a paper bag at their feet.

“Get some rest,” they say. “You’ll need it.”

They leave and I wait till the door closes to reach out to the bag. Inside, I find a chunk of bread, a couple of slices of cheese, a small apple, and a bottle of water. I nearly  ball up the bag and chuck it across the barn, but my stomach growls. I sigh and reach into the bag and take out each item, placing the bread, apple, and cheese in my lap. I set the water on the floor and tear the bag open to make a sort of placemat. I reorganize the food on the torn up bag and stare at it, momentarily wondering why the hell I even set it up like this.

I shake my head and eat what little food I’ve been given.

“Found anything?”

“Some locals have been shooed off their land recently,” Clint says. “They saw some weird shit going down a few weeks back and now they’re being asked to leave.”

“I think they said someone offered to buy their plots to try and get them to leave,” Bucky adds.

“Weird,” Sam says. “They got any idea where these people are holed up?”

“Not from what we can tell,” Clint sighs. “I think they’re too freaked out to try and look into it.”

“Which is understandable, considering the firepower some of these goons apparently have,” Bucky shakes his head. “What I wouldn’t give to be able to just find one guy.”

“I know, Buck.”

“I might be able to help with that.”

“How?”

“We’ve been cleared for aerial recon. I’ll be flying out around the area you’re in later today. See if there’s anything I can find that you can’t see on the ground.”

“How long have you been working on this?” Bucky asks.

“I put in a request the day after you talked to Steve. Had a helluva time trying to get Ross to agree, but Stark suggested that there’d be no way anyone would ever sign the accords if he let one of their own disappear without a trace.”

“Thank him for us,” Clint says.

“Will do.”

Anxious to get the search underway, Bucky asks, “How soon can you get out here?”

“I’ll be there in about an hour.”

“Great, we’ll go back over what we’ve got and send you anything useful. Has Natasha found anything since she last called?”

“Not much, but I’ll let her know you could use whatever she’s got.”

“Thanks.”

“No problem. See you guys soon.”

“See you.”

Sam hangs up and Bucky leans back in his seat.

“That’s good news,” Clint says. “We’ll be able to cover more ground now. Find her faster.”

Bucky nods absently. “It’s been almost a week.”

“I know.” Clint takes Bucky’s hand. “We’ll find her. She’s strong, we’ll-” his voice breaks and he takes a deep breath. “We’ll get her back.”

The corner of Bucky’s mouth twitches up into a smile. “You keep saying that.”

“Because we will.”

“Say it enough times, and it’ll come true, right?”

Clint nods. “Exactly. She’s probably doing her best for us. We have to be strong for her too.”

“I know.” Bucky takes a deep breath and slowly releases it. “We’ll find her.”

“We will.” Clint kisses the back of Bucky’s hand. “We absolutely will.”

“Yeah, this place looks real sketchy.”

“Explain,” Bucky says.

“The barn is old and rickety, probably a little too close to falling down to keep any kind of livestock in. There’s a building that’s attached though, and it’s newer.”

“Can you get a closer look?”

“Not a chance. Shit’s on lock-down. At least twenty guys around the perimeter, and who knows what else inside.”

Bucky sighs and lays back in the grass. “We’ve been watching this dump for two days. We’re pretty fuckin sure she’s in there. Can we please just rush in and start shooting?”

“Not yet,” Clint says.

“Please, Clint.”

“Give it a day, man,” Sam says. “Let them get a little restless and see what they do. They might just bring (Y/N) to us.”

“It’d give us time to get Steve and Nat up here,” Clint adds. “Extra hands on this would make it easier for us to focus on getting to (Y/N) instead of avoiding getting shot.”

“Fine. But only because we could use the help.”

“I’ll do another lap and then I’m headed back to the compound. I’ll call you guys when we’ve got a plan of attack.”

“Thanks, Sam,” Clint says. “We’ll talk to you soon.”

They hang up and Bucky reaches out for Clint’s hand. Clint laces their fingers and sighs softly.

“We’re so close,” Bucky mutters.

“I know. She’s less than a mile away now.” Clint’s gaze is distant.

Bucky recognizes Clint closing himself off, preparing for the worst. “Don’t do that.”

“What?”

“You’re shutting down.” Bucky sighs and squeezes Clint’s hand. “She’s not dead.”

“Buck…”

“If she were, they wouldn’t need so many guards.”

“I know, I’m just… I’m just worried.”

“I know.”

Clint flops down beside him and rolls onto his side. “You’re not supposed to be the optimist here.”

“Yeah well, it’s not fun to be pessimistic if we’re both dragging each other down.” Bucky looks over at Clint and offers a small smile. “We’re close. We’ll get her back. There’s no other option.”

“Did you hear what Todd was saying earlier?”

"What're you talking about, man?"

"He said scanners picked up on two bodies a little over a mile away."

"No shit?"

"Yeah, and there was something buzzing by the barn yesterday and today. Said boss lady's real freaked out."

"You think it could be the Avengers?"

The first man laughs. "Why the hell would the Avengers be interested in us? It's not like we've done anything to them."

"I dunno, man. What about this chick?"

"What about her?"

"I think she was with the Avengers for a while. Like I think I saw her on TV at one point."

"Nah, man, that was the Falcon. There's only one Avenger with wings and it's a dude in a suit. We're home free."

“I dunno, man… I got a bad feeling about that.”

“Look, it’s two guys. What can they do against all of us?”

The second man laughs hesitantly. “I guess you’re right.”

I cough into my elbow and freeze when their eyes snap to me. I curl into myself, hoping that they’ll just ignore me and go back to their conversation.

“You got something to add, freak?” the first man asks.

I shake my head. “No.”

He squints at me. “You think someone’s looking for you?”

“I don’t know,” I murmur.

“How the fuck do you not know?”

Anger flares in my stomach. “I don’t know what time it is most of the time. I don’t even know how long I’ve been here. So forgive me if I don’t know jack fuckin shit about whatever it is you two are bickering about in your little doorway over there.”

The first man squinted at me and gestured to his friend. “Get the boss.”

“Which one?”

“Both of ‘em.”

“Oh shit.”

The second man ran off in search of the bosses. I can only assume the first man meant the Doctor and her right hand man. I think I’d be worried, if I didn’t know that the Doctor wants me alive for whatever other tests she’s got planned. Besides that, my mind is buzzing with what the two men were talking about. Just the idea of Clint and Bucky knowing where I am fills me with just a little hope.

The second man returns, flanked by three burly guards, followed by the Doctor and her right hand man. The two men from before and the guards wrestle me up from the floor and I do what I can to push back against them. My legs are still shackled to the floor, so I can't get far, but I manage to punch one of the guards in the eye. He stumbles back, clutching his face.

"Don't fucking touch me," I hiss.

The Doctor’s right hand steps up and slaps me across the face. My head snaps to the side and heat blooms in my cheek. The guard I punched kicks me in the stomach, forcing the air from my lungs. I hang in the grip of my captors and they force me onto my knees. I glance up to find the Doctor leaning over me, holding something out to her right hand. He forces my wings flat against my back and he works with the Doctor to belt them down.

“Chain her up,” the Doctor instructs. “Don’t touch her wings, and don’t break any bones.”

She’s answered with a chorus of “Yes, ma’am.” and she walks out of the barn.

“What do we do, boss?” the first man asks.

The right hand tuts. “You hit her, of course, you empty headed morons.”

“Don’t be a puss about it,” I add. I’m going to regret egging them on, but there’s only so much they can do to me, and Clint and Bucky are so close. “Really make it count.”

“Oh, believe me, bird girl,” the right hand says. “We will.”

-----------

Part 9

Honestly, I do not like hurting characters, and I promise we’re nearly at the end of the pain. It’s totally cool if anyone’s still kind of upset with me lmao

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This fic:

“We’re in a hallway.”

“And you treat it like a public space!”

"Other people live in this building, (Y/N), it's not just us!"

"Is this the moment when you finally admit you live here, too?"

“How is that what we were talking about in any way?”

“You said us when you were talking about who lives here, not just Clint and I!” I poke him in the side. “You live here too. Admit it.”

“I’m not admitting anything.”

“Seriously?” Bucky rolls his eyes and moves in front of me to walk down the stairs. He doesn’t let go of my hand. “Bucky, you have spent more nights in either my apartment or Clint’s since I moved back in. You live here.”

“I don’t pay rent. I don’t live here.”

“Then you’re a squatter. A really well-paid squatter.”

“You’re an awful person.”

I hummed. “I know, but you like me anyway.”

“Unfortunately.”

I cackle and follow him down the last few flights of stairs. We load up our bags, the picnic basket, and the umbrella Bucky wanted into the back of the car. The umbrella tries to escape a few times and Bucky has to climb into the car and hold it in while I close the back hatch. Once it’s secure, Bucky helps me get into the car by, first, laying the back of the passenger seat down flat. I tuck my wings as tightly to my body as I possibly can and lay down on the passenger side and Bucky buckles me in as soon as I settle. I pillow my hands under my cheek and wait for the car to warm up so that we can leave.

“You look comfy,” Bucky says.

“This sucks, and you know it,” I grumble.

He laughs. “Maybe.”

As soon as we’re out of the city, Bucky reaches over to me and I take his hand. He softly tells me to get some rest and that he’ll wake me when we reach our destination. I do my best to stay awake as long as I possibly can, I eventually nod off and sleep for about an hour and a half before Bucky gently shakes me awake. It takes me a moment to wake up and realize where we are.

“We’re here already?” I mumble.

“Mhm.” Bucky squeezes my hand. "Come on. Let's set up."

I nod and unbuckle my seatbelt. I open the back passenger door and crawl out across the back of the car seat. I shake out my wings as soon as my feet hit the grass and stretch my arms over my head. I pop my back all the way up and down my spine and I sigh loudly. It takes me a moment to register that Bucky’s driven us out the literal middle of nowhere and parked at the edge of a massive grassy field. Behind us stands a giant wall of trees and beyond that is miles of rolling hills and fields of grass, rippling in the wind. I look at Bucky and grin. He smiles and shakes his head before jerking his chin at the back gate of the car. I grab my bag and the umbrella and trail after Bucky while he looks for the perfect place to set up.

After wandering around for nearly five minutes, Bucky finds a spot he likes and spreads out his blanket. I open the umbrella and drive the stake into the ground at one corner of the blanket. Bucky immediately stretches out across the blanket and I lay on my stomach in the sun beside him.

“Seriously?” he asks.

I shrug and spread my wings. “It’s been a while since I’ve been able to do this.”

He shakes his head. “You’re nuts.”

“Not all of us have metal arms, Buck. I'm not gonna burn myself if I sit in the sun for a bit.”

"You could still burn," he mutters.

I hum and fold my arms under my chin. "Worth it."

He shakes his head. “You’re so weird sometimes.”

“Someone has to be, and seeing as Clint’s not here, I’ve gotta pick up the slack.” Bucky laughs and I smile. “How’d you find this place, anyway?”

“Stark moved operations upstate for a while. Things got loud and crowded so I left and drove around for a bit. Found this open field and filed it away for later.”

“Have you brought Clint out here yet?”

“No, not yet. He doesn’t need quiet like we do.” He takes my hand in his when I reach out to him. “He’ll get his turn at some point. But today it’s just you ‘n me.”

“I’m kinda glad it’s just us today,” I confess. “We don’t get a lot of time alone together, what with you living at the tower.”

“I know. I get sucked into a lot of work with Steve.” He sighs. “I love him, he’s my best friend, but he’s such a fuckin’ work-a-holic. Acts like he’s still got shit to prove, even though he ‘n Tony are probably two of the most respected people on the planet.”

“Well, you know how it went the last time I tried to talk him into taking a vacation.”

“You jumped out a window.”

“He started having a panic attack thinking about the paperwork that could potentially pile up while he was gone.” I sigh. “I worry about him sometimes.

“Don’t worry about him too much. Sam and Rhodey have been helping more, recently. Rhodey is great with the leadership stuff, and Sam is the perfect backup when training starts getting a little out of hand.”

“That’s good.”

“Stark’s talking with that Pym guy to see if he’ll loan his guy to us for a while.”

“Scott, right?”

“Yeah, gave Sam a hard time a few years back, but…” he lowers his voice conspiratorially, “We’re not supposed to know about that.”

I laugh and he turns his head to grin at me. “And how do you know this?”

“Confidential, sweetheart.”

“Aw, Buck, come on!”

He laughs. “I was going back through old security tapes a while back and found the feed.”

“Putting all that training to good use, I see.”

“I gotta find my fun somewhere, (Y/N).”

“And you’re not one to go tugging on Clint’s pigtails, or anything.”

“Nah, he’d like it too much.”

I giggle. “Probably.”

Bucky shakes his head. “Anyway, Steve’s doing better than he was. Work might slow down enough that I could spend more time at the building with you guys instead of stuck at the tower. Well… more than just the evenings and the occasional weekend.”

“That’d be really nice.”

He nods and hums in agreement. His eyes flutter shut as he relaxes and I watch him doze for a bit before I pull my hand from his and wander out to the middle of the field. I close my eyes and tip my face to the sky, spreading my arms and wings, just to soak up the warmth. A gentle breeze kicks up around me and the faint rustling of grass slowly reaches my ears.

I sigh and begin to move my wings, lifting from the ground with each downbeat. When I can see nothing but the tops of the trees and the rolling hills of the countryside, I angle myself and fly in several wide, lazy circles over the field. Bucky and his umbrella are little more than a speck on the ground below when I circle back around the fifth time.

With one strong stroke, I break off from my course and glide out over the treetops. I climb higher and higher through the clouds until I can’t see the ground below me. I relish the strain of the muscles all up and down my body, groaning through months of disuse, but pleased to finally move after being stuck on the ground for so long. Up in the clouds, I swear I can breathe a little better than I could not even ten minutes ago. My head is clearer than it has been in nearly a year. I feel wonderful. Wonderful enough to pull my wings in tight against my back and free fall through every single inch of cloud cover before unfurling them and gliding out over the countryside.

I do a few loop-the-loops and have to pause after to shove my hair out of my face. Embarrassed, I glance around and laugh when I realize that absolutely no one could’ve seen me.

I take off again, dipping down below the clouds, only to find that I’m in a completely different place from where I started. I squint at the surrounding area, searching for any kind of defining landmark, and immediately backpedal when the Compound comes into view. I angle my wings into a sharp turn and take off in the direction I came from.

I figure I’m home free when I see the umbrella and I put on an extra burst of speed in an attempt to reach Bucky faster.

“Long time no see, (Y/N)!”

I jerk my head from side to side in an attempt to figure out where the voice came from. A second look over my right shoulder reveals Sam, slowly emerging from some kind of cloaking shield. Startled, I forget to move my wings and Immediately lose altitude.

“Fuck!” I yell out, flailing my arms as I plummet to the earth below.

I manage to roll and face the sky and I take several deep breaths to try and calm myself. When I open them again, Sam is diving, arms outstretched in an attempt to catch me. His yells reach my ears and I pull my wings tight against my body, arch my back and flip myself to face the ground once more. About fifty feet before I hit the ground, I snap my wings open and streak across the field. Sam pulls up just in time to avoid crashing into the dry grass below.

I bank sharply and land a short distance from Sam. Anger rises in my chest and I ball my hands into fists.

“What the fuck was that, Wilson?!” I shout. “Are you trying to fucking kill me? If I had something on me right now, I’d throw it and your head!”

"I am so sorry, (Y/N)," he says, hands raised in defense. "I didn't think you'd get spooked like that."

"You were cloaked. How the hell was I supposed to know you were there?"

He freezes. “I… I don’t know.”

I let out a frustrated yell and, with one strong stroke of my wings, I send him tumbling to the ground with a massive gust of air. I storm off in the direction of the car shouting back at Sam each time he tries to defend himself.

“Come on, (Y/N), it was an accident! I’m trying to apologize.”

Bucky lumbers over, raking his hands through his hair. “What’s going on?”

“Sam just about killed me,” I grind out.

“What?”

I fold my arms and shake my head. “I got distracted and didn’t realize how far I’d flown and wound up a little too close to the Compound. I got out of there as fast as I could, and I thought I made it. But Sam followed me all the way back and decided to do so cloaked-” I look back and Sam and glare. He has the decency to look guilty. “-And startled me bad enough that I stopped flying. I fell a few hundred feet before I could get my bearings and get my wings out again.”

Bucky looks past me at Sam, brows pulled together in a scowl. “What the hell, man?”

“Look, something appeared on the scanner, I had to go check it out. How was I supposed to know it was her? We didn’t even know she was back in town!”

“Yeah, but you figured out it was her, right? Why would you follow her back after that?”

“I don’t know. None of us have seen her in two years, man. I guess I wanted to make sure it was actually her.”

“You could’ve done that from a distance, Sam,” I counter. “You know I’m not a threat. Scaring the shit out of me put us both in danger.”

“You’re right.” Sam looks between Bucky and I and sighs. “I’ll get outta your hair.”

“I hope this doesn’t end up in a report, or something,” Bucky says.

Sam laughs. “Don’t worry, it won’t. My lips are sealed.”

I give him a tight lipped smile. “Thanks, Sam.”

“Don’t mention it, (Y/N).” He lifts off the ground and grins. “I’d hug you, but I’m pretty sure you’d just punch me.”

“Damn right I would,” I mutter. Bucky laughs and bumps his shoulder against mine.

“See you next week,” Bucky calls.

Sam nods and Bucky and I watch him disappear into the clouds. Bucky sighs and shakes his head and leads me back to the umbrella, muttering to himself about hating his job. I slip my arm around his waist and tell him he doesn’t hate his job, he just really enjoys his time off.

We spread out on the blanket and eat our lunch. We don’t talk much and I take off to fly again when I’m finished. I stay much closer this time, choosing to just do laps around the field instead of exploring like I had been earlier. Instead, I content myself with doing different aerial maneuvers and buzzing by the umbrella every once in a while.

I fly for another three hours before I get tired. I drop down in front of Bucky and he cracks one eye open to look up at me.

“Done?”

I nod. “Yeah.”

“Okay.”

“I know Sam said he wouldn’t tell anyone, but I can’t help being a little paranoid,” I say. I offer him a hand up and he takes it.

Bucky yanks the umbrella from the ground and shrugs. “I’d say that’s just smart thinking, on your part.”

I hum and begin packing things back into the picnic basket. I shake out and fold up the blanket and tuck it under my arm as we head back to the car.

“Did you at least get to relax a little?” I ask.

“Oh, yeah. I think I napped most of the time.”

I laugh. “Good.”

Once everything is packed in the car, Bucky helps me back into my seat. The interior is warm and my overworked muscles are crying out for me to rest. The hum and rhythm of the car isn’t helping my case much, and I grow drowsy the further we drive. Bucky takes my hand as I begin to doze off.

“Did you have any kind of fun today?” he asks.

“Mhm.” I nod and squeeze his hand. “Gonna be sore in the morning.”

"Sounds like you had a really good time, then."

"Yeah." I nod off for a moment, but suddenly remember something. "We gotta get pizza on the way home. I promised Clint."

"I know, sweetheart, don't worry. We'll grab a couple'a pies on the way back into town."

"Okay."

I sleep the entire way home.

Bucky gently shakes me awake when we arrive and I groggily crawl out of the car. I grab the bags from the bar and Bucky shakes his head when I reach for the umbrella and picnic basket. He gestures for me to follow him into the building and we trudge up the stairs to Clint’s apartment. Lucky is at the door as soon as we’re inside and Clint barely looks up from what he’s doing when Lucky barks and announces our arrival.

“What’d I say about coming home early?” Clint asks. “It’s not even dark out yet!”

I shake my head and drop the bags near the door.

“(Y/N) got a little too close to the Compound and Sam followed her back after she got picked up on the scanners,” Bucky explains.

“He decided to surprise me and I nearly fell to my death.” I grab plates from the cupboard. “So there’s that too.”

“Holy shit,” Clint says.

“Yeah… But we have pizza.”

Bucky holds up the two boxes and Clint grins and clears his arrows from the coffee table.

“I knew there was a reason I kept you guys around.”

I roll my eyes and hand him a plate. “There’s more benefits to us than pizza.”

Clint flips open a box as soon as they’re on the table and takes three slices. “Right now, the main benefit is pizza.” He leans over when I sit beside him and kisses my forehead. “You’re still pretty great without it, though.”

“Aw, thanks, Clint.”

We eat in relative silence, doing our best to ignore Lucky’s pleading looks, though Clint gives in and tosses him his own slice. Bucky admonishes Clint but Clint just laughs and jokes about throwing Lucky another slice.

When I finish, I lean forward on the table, stretching the muscles all up and down my back. Clint reaches over and presses his knuckles between my shoulderblades, gently massaging away the steadily growing soreness. Clint and Bucky talk between themselves and I watch as Lucky climbs into Bucky’s lap and curls up.

I smile and listen to their conversation and let their voices and Clint’s hand on my back lull me into soft relaxation.

---------

Part 6

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