#((not to mention its super disorienting when everything is blurry))

[kiwidotcom]

ヽ（≧□≦）ノ

[fockmeuprealgood]

The Bird’s Song - 7

Pairings: Bucky Barnes x OC

Warnings: violence, romance, slow burn, fluff, ptsd, angst

Description: Adelia is near the end when the Avengers save her from a Leviathan compound. She gets thrown into the world of superheroes when the Avengers try to figure out who she is and why she was a prisoner in the first place.

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My vision was dark and my body was in pain. Knees sore from kneeling for too long on the hard floor. Wrists and arms sore from being bound tightly behind my back. My lungs burned from a lack of oxygen. Icy water shocked my system. Someone quickly pulled my head back up and then plunged me back into the water. I couldn’t keep my eyes open as my body began to spasm. Threatening to inhale.

Do it. Take a breath. It’ll make you feel better. You need to. Just give in.

I did. I began to cough and sputter, a new pain filled my chest as water entered my lungs. My head was pulled from the water again and I was thrown onto the hard-concrete floor. The pounding in my head disoriented me. I lay there, spitting up water, drool hung from the side of my mouth.

My vision was blurry as I looked around the room, the man who held me under paced around me. My father observed the situation while standing along one of the walls of the room. Two more men stood near the door.

I rested my head on the floor and closed my eyes, I wanted to let the darkness consume me. I wanted a break.

Go to sleep. You deserve it. You can sleep for as long as you want.

A sharp kick to the stomach woke me back up, my body contorted as I turned to throw up more water. The man picked me up by my hair and put me on my aching knees again. He turned me to face my father. Water dripped down my face as I turned my head up to look at him. He uncrossed his arms and took two steps forward. Leaning down he roughly grabbed my jaw and awkwardly bent my head up towards him.

“You little bitch, you can’t do anything right.” He barked in my face. “We gave you so many chances to help the Leviathan cause, to help your family. You let us down.” He shoved me back. I landed oddly on my shoulders; it provoked more pain in my tied arms.

I rolled over to my stomach as the man delivered two more kicks to my side. I gagged and dry heaved. He grabbed my hair again and dragged me over to the tub full of ice water. He pushed my body up against it and shoved my head under the water.

I screamed under water as my vision grew darker, my body slowly began to relax as I let go of reality. I could feel myself slump over the tub as the grip on my hair got tighter. Eventually I let everything go and fell into the depths of darkness.

I quickly jolted up. Sitting in bed I glanced around the room. I panted wildly as I gripped my sheets tightly. Sweat covered my forehead, the room seemed to be a few degrees too warm. I slowly peeled the covers off of my body and climbed out of bed. Shakily, I walked to the bathroom.

I turned on the light and grabbed a washcloth from one of the drawers. I used it to wipe my face and set it back down on the counter. I pushed my hair back out of my face as I walked back out of the bathroom and looked out of the windows that lined the wall.

The dream had shaken me, it was a memory that just felt so real. I could feel the guilt I felt then for letting my father down. I picked at the sleeve of my shirt. My nerves grew the longer I thought about my past punishment.

Wanting to focus my attention somewhere else, I walked over to the book shelf. I randomly plucked a book out and examined the cover. To Kill A Mockingbird, the cover read, with the shadow of a tree spread across the soft cover book.

I made my way out of my room and quietly down the hall to the smaller common room I had noted earlier when I was on my way here with Tony. I stopped short as I entered the room, noticing a figure staring out of the floor to ceiling windows.

Steve turned towards me as I took a few more steps closer to him.

“Couldn’t sleep?” He asked, watching me go to find a seat on the couch. I shook my head and sat down as he turned back to the windows. The city was much calmer seeing as it was so early in the morning. The sun was beginning to peak up from the horizon, but the city was still dark. Everything was calm without the bustling traffic.

“Neither could I,” He responded. “Nothing new for me though.”

He walked around the couch and rested himself a few feet away from me. I curled my legs into my chest and wrapped my arms around them. I placed my cheek on knees as I looked at him. I watched as he relaxed himself into the couch.

He had slight wrinkles along his forehead and eyes. If one looked hard enough, you could spot the dark circles and bags under his eyes. They were minimal, but still there. I assumed the serum helped prevent those sorts of things. Just the years of stress and fighting wore on him.

“You worry,” I whispered. He spun his head back to me. I watched as he also took in my tired appearance.

“Yes, um, I do.”

“It’s ok.”

“Yeah,” Whispering, he nodded back at me. He wiped his hands on his pants and looked down at the floor. “About my friends, I do. And about everything, if I’ve chosen to do the right thing.”

“You’ll be ok.” I didn’t know how to reassure the super soldier.

I looked at him for a few seconds more before turning to the book I almost forgot about. Steve didn’t seem very open to the idea of talking and it wasn’t like I wanted to have a full conversation either. Cracking the book open, I turn to the first chapter not bothering to read to summary.

I read until my eyes began to strain and my stomach began to growl. I lowered the book onto the coffee table in front of me and looked around the room. Steve had left a while ago, the tv still droning from when he had turned it on. The sun streamed through the windows and it was now well on its way into the sky.

I got up from the couch and stretched my arms into the air. I was about to head up the common room to make myself breakfast when Sam called out to me. He emerged from the hall that housed our bedrooms. Together we made our way to the elevator.

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I strolled through the quiet halls of the Tower as I made my way back to my room. I rubbed my aching hands; they were sore from constantly working all day with Tony. The sun had already gone down and most of Tony’s employees had gone home, I hadn’t spotted any Avengers, assuming they were all calling it a night in their private rooms.

I rubbed my tired eyes as I made it to the common rooms and down towards my bedroom. As I pressed my hand to the doorknob, I heard the door next to mine creak out. Sam poked his head out before fully making his way out next to me.

“I heard you pass; thought I would say goodnight,” He said. “I haven’t seen you much since Tony put you to work.”

“Yeah, he keeps me busy.”

“Um, I wanted to ask, how have you been feeling?”

“Good, I guess. As good as I can be. I’ve been putting on weight, getting strength back.”

“But, I mean, how have you been holding up?”

“Oh,” I looked down at my feet, my fingers began to fidget a little. I looked back up at Sam, then off next to him, at the wall behind his head. “Ok, um, so many things are different for me now. It’s scary.”

“New experiences are alarming. It seems like you’ve adjusted pretty easily though. Like you’re comfortable.”

“I trust you. Tony and Steve a little too, but everyone else around here, I don’t know their intentions.” I whispered, looking back into Sam’s eyes. They were round and bright. They showed that he was inviting, that he cared. It was his turn to break eye contact. “Why are you guys letting me stay here?” The question popped into my head. I didn’t get why the Avengers were letting me live here.

“Because you kinda hit a soft spot in me,” He admitted. “I wanted to keep you close, keep an eye on you.”

“Sam, when can I go home?” That caused his eyes to snap up at me.

“Go home?” He looked shocked. “What do you mean, go home?” I wanted to crawl under the covers on my bed and forget that I even mentioned this. Sam placed his hands on his hips.

“The compound,” My voice cracked. “I’m gonna need to go back soon.”

“Adelia, why would you need to go back there?”

“Cause the longer I’m away, the worse my punishment will be for leaving them.”

Sam sighed. Dropping his hands to his sides, he slowly made his way over to me. He gently grabbed my head with his hands and tilted me up to look at him. The tears burned as they pooled in the corners of my eyes. Sam wiped away a stray tear that began to fall down my face.

“You don’t have to go back. And I want you to remember, that I will never let anyone hurt you,” His eyes shifted back and forth between mine. “No one’s going to touch you.”

My lip quivered as he pulled me into a tight hug. I just let him hold me, I took in the clean smell he gave off, as if he just got out of the shower. We stood in the dark hallway for a couple more minutes until Sam slowly pulled away.

“We’ll keep you safe, not matter what,” He was very serious. He gestured towards the doors opposite mine and his. “Steve is on a mission with Bucky right now, they’ll be back tomorrow. There will always be people here to look after you, whether it be me or Tony or even Peter.”

I nodded and we looked at each for a few moments. I slowly turned into my room; Sam closed the door for me as I sat on the bed. I didn’t bother changing into pajamas, I just kicked off my shoes and climbed under the covers. I laid there with a blank mind as I just waited for sleep to wash over me.

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Ok, I promise, we get to meet Bucky in the next chapter. I’m excited! Thank you all for reading, it means the world to me!