Enjoy a long-ish chapter to make up for my lack of updating efforts. I love you beautiful hoes, and I apologise for my slow updates. <3

[THIRD PERSON POV] 

"I don't wanna go."

"Davina, doll, stop acting like a child and get up." Bucky frowned, scowling playfully at his girl.

Davina looked up at him, a smug look upon her face. "Why should I?"

Bucky sighed, rubbing his temple with his metal fingers. "Because if both of us don't show up, their going to start assuming things-"

"Let them think what they want." Davina smirked, a devilish glint in her eyes.

Bucky rolled his eyes and moved towards her, yanking her out of the bed and throwing her body over his shoulder.

"HEY! Put me down you asshole." She laughed, squirming in his arms. "We're gonna be late, and as much as I want to sit in bed with you for the rest of my life, Steve said this meeting's important."

He put her down as the pair walked side by side down the hallway. "Well it can't be too important if he didn't bring in the rest of the team."

"Wilson's there-"

"Sam's the only other person in this building apart from you, me, and Steve." She grumbled, crossing her arms across her chest in annoyance as they walked up the stairs.

"Just hurry up doll." He whined, taking her hand in his and lacing his fingers through hers. She couldn't help the electric jolts that seemed to race through her body as his thumb rubbed gentle circles around her hand.

"How come they get to be late and I have to come on time-" Sam's whining voice echoed around the hallway as they reached their assigned meeting room.

"They're not that late- Look, here they are." Steve slapped his forehead with his hand. "Thank you, for finally gracing us with your presence."

"Your very welcome Stevie." Davina smiled at Steve's amused expression, plopping herself down on a chair.

"Why are we here Steve?" Bucky questioned bluntly, he never was one for small talk. Davina frowned at him as he took his seat.

Bucky glanced at her and mouthed 'what' whilst stifling a chuckle. The girl cast him an amused look and shook her head, focusing her attention back on Steve, who seemed to be skimming through a bunch of images on the holographic monitor.

She narrowed her eyes at the blurred images of bloodies corpse's. Before she could open her mouth to voice her confusion, Sam beat her to it.

"Why are you showing us this? Can't the policey people handle this?" He mumbled, eyebrows furrowed together.

Steve turned to face them all briefly. "Well.. Usually.. But it's what came with it that has me concerned..." He flipped to another picture and the whole room went deadly silent.

Davina leaned forwards in her chair slightly to get a better look at the picture. She read the bloody words, scrawled across a clean white wall softly to herself, just to be sure her mind had read them right.

She drew in a sharp breath and her nails dug into her thighs, providing her with streaks of pain. She didn't want to feel anything, she wanted nothing more than to wake up from this nightmare.

Because that's what it had to be, a nightmare. This couldn't be real, none of this could be real. 

It wasn't fair, they had just overcome a battle, it wasn't fair to be lead straight into another one-

"What are you suggesting that means Rogers?" Bucky growled, his own hands clenched tightly into shaking fists.

Davina shook her head slowly. "W-we don't know it's from them Steve.. I-It might n-not be.." Her voice trembled heavily and her lips shook.

True fear was sparked through her veins as Steve zoomed out slowly from the picture, revealing the signature mark Davina hated with all her blood.

It was the mark of the people who had laced her childhood with pain and torment, the mark that had turned her against her family, the mark that had experimented on her when she was only a child, it was the mark that had raised her to become the monster she was and will always be.

HYDRA...

The eyes glazed over at the sight of that filthy mark.

"They're coming... And they're not going to stop, they're never going to stop until they get what they want.." Davina desperately tried to keep her voice stable, but her last words came out in a shallow murmur. "They're never going to stop."

She felt as if she was in some kind of a trance. Like that feeling when your on the edge of falling asleep, only just conscious. 

She snapped out of her mindset at the sense of Bucky's warm flesh hand landing on hers. He laced his fingers through hers and she immediately gripped his hand. It reminded her of what a small child might do, when receiving an immunisation. Gripping their loving mothers hand with all their strength.

Bucky's eyes filled with sorrow as soon as her hand latched onto his. Her trembling, deathly grip was enough to fill his body with uttermost sorrow. He traced small circles into her hand with his thumb, an effort to help calm her.

It wasn't long after the pair had admitted their feeling for each other that he discovered an affectionate truth about her. It was the small things that made her happy, made her feel safe.

The way he laced his fingers with hers and squeezed her hand, the way he drew circles on her back with his fingers, the way he stroked her hair slowly as she fell asleep.

Davina never had to tell him this.. He just knew. He could feel when she would relax, when her whole body seemed to melt against his. 

He felt her hand loosen remotely in his grip as her body relaxed the slightest bit. Relief flooded through his body at the sense of her loosened grip, though it was short lived as his attention was drawn back to the holographic image of those hideous words scrawled out before him.

He cringed at the words, even more so at the blood-dripped HYDRA symbol pasted below it. 

"Look.. We know what this means. But we're a team, Davina, you are part of this team, together we can stand against-"

"Hold up hold up Capsicle.. I am not apart of your Avengers fight club." She chuckled, causing the three men in the room to turn their heads towards her in confusion.

"She isn't?" Sam whisper shouted towards Bucky across the table, his eyebrows furrowed together as a clear display of pure confusion at her statement.

Bucky turned towards Davina and leant his head slightly closer towards her. "Your not?" He turned his head towards Steve. "Wait.. Am I?" 

Steve slapped his forehead with the palm of his hand, earning a loud smack. The whole room was silent for a few moments before Sam leant over the table, turning towards both Davina and Bucky.

He whisper shouted a few words towards them, ignoring the piercing glare coming from Steve. "I don't think he meant to slap his face that hard guys."

Davina bit her lip to hide her laughter.

"Alright don't you think we're straying a bit off topic here?" Steve spoke loudly, gaining the attention of everyone in the room.

"I don't know Steve." Davina smiled. "I much prefer this topic to the fact that HYDRA is trying to get back their little lab rat of a co-worker." 

Her words caused another dull silence to hang over the room. She scoffed lightly at the impact of her words. "Oh come on guys.. Were we just going to ignore the clear message HYDRA's sending us? Yeah, no."

She glanced down at her hand as Bucky's grip tightened around hers ever so slightly, discomfort clear through his actions.

Steve coughed awkwardly. "As much as I was trying to filter that.. Yes, that's the message their sending. What we need to find out is where they are, and more importantly why they want her-"

"Seriously Brooklyn?" Steve frowned at the way she used his former home as a new way of addressing him. She ignored his confused look and continued speaking. "They want me back because they've realised their not getting Bucky back, they can't control him anymore. That's HYDRA's best weapon gone.. They've turned their attention on the second best.." She choked out.

Her hand tightened around Bucky's once again, and his thumb instantly went back to tracing soothing circles around her flesh, she shone him a weak smile of appreciation.

Steve took in a heavy breath. "Davina.. We already consider you a part of the team, whether you like it or not, you've got us." He quickly glanced at Bucky. "You too Bucky-"

"Well now lets not get carried away-" 

"Sam- Shut up." Steve cut in.

"Woah now, that's a bad language word Stevie." Sam fired back, earning an exasperated groan from Steve.

He focused his attention back towards Davina. "You've got us on your side Vinnie.. We won't let them come for you."

The next hour rushed by in a blur Davina couldn't remember. She couldn't focus on any of the other words that came out of Steve's mouth.

She was only brought back into the land of the living when Bucky gently squeezed her thigh. "Come on doll, Steve and Wilson left 10 minutes ago, you've just been sitting here staring at the wall."

She stood up and followed him silently down the hall, back the same way they had come a couple hours before. Neither one said a thing, the sounds of their footsteps echoing against the walls being the only sound to keep them company.

Even when her bedroom door was shut behind them, the pair remained silent. Davina stood stiffly and watched as Bucky pulled all of the blankets and pillows off their bed, gesturing for her to follow him towards the balcony.

It was only once she was curled up against his side on the balcony, one leg slumped over his lower body, one arm across his chest, gazing up into the starry night as they had done so many times before when things got bad, that the silent void between them finally broke.

"It'll be okay.." He whispered, placing a kiss on her nose as she craned her neck to look up at him.

"You don't know that.." She murmured, her head returning to his chest to avoid coming face to face with the pained expression she knew he was wearing.

He sighed heavily and ran his metal fingers through her hair. She melting into his comforting touch and allowed her mind to relax slightly. Sometimes the girl wondered how the metal didn't get stuck in her hair, though she knew better than to wonder about stupid thoughts such as that.

He hummed a soft tune, allowing her to relax even further. "You know, your right.. Maybe they will come, but if they do.. They're gonna have to get through me, and Steve, and Sam, and-"

"No Bucky." She stated, lifting her head up to face him, a blank expression upon her face.

He furrowed his brows at her and stared directly into her eyes. "What do you mean no?" He chuckled, hoping he had misheard her.

"The last thing I want is you, or anyone else getting hurt because of me." She grumbled harshly.

He sighed in annoyance. "Well.. Don't think of it that was then."

"Bucky-"

"No, i'm being serious Vina." He murmured. "We were going to have to go against HYDRA again eventually, to bring them down for good. So think of it like that, we're going against HYDRA.. To bring them down for good." He stated.

She stared at him for a few more moments before returning her head to the warm comfort of his chest. She decided, that just for tonight, she would ignore all the problems floating around in her head. She could deal with that tomorrow.

"Can we stay out here tonight?" She whispered, sounding like a small child once again.

He chuckled softly, burying his face into her soft curls. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

There was a long, comforting silence, just the two of them, and the stars. She smiled into his chest.

"I love you James.."

She felt a soft, delicate kiss press against her temple. "I love you Davina Penton."

Word Count : 2105