1. Meetings in the Hall

Lina Gérard breathed a sigh as she unlocked her apartment door. It had been a rather long day down at the hospital, with the seemingly endless stream of patients that had came through the E.R (which she would unwillingly admit was normal in a large city like New York.) She was tired and hungry and the only thing she really wanted to do was to grab some kind of junk food and catch up on some of favorite t.v shows on Netflix.

"Hmm...maybe I should order some pizza." she mumbled to herself, as she opened up the door.

Just as she was stepping through into her small foyer, she heard the echo of voices coming up the stairwell outside. She honestly didn't know how she had gotten so lucky. Be it fate, destiny, God, Gods, or the universe, something or someone had certainly smiled down on her when it came to who her neighbor was.

Steve Rogers a.k.a Captain America smiled at her as he and a couple of other men walked past. "Good evening, Lina. How are you?" he asked.

"Hey, Cap!" she replied. "I'm good, just getting home from my shift." She motioned toward the purple scrubs she was still wearing. "How are you doing today?"

"I'm alright." he said. "I don't believe I've introduced you to my friends. Sam, Bucky, this is Lina Gérard, she's my neighbor. Lina, this is Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes. Bucky's going to be staying with me for a while."

Lina, of course, had heard of the both of them. Sam was the now famous "Falcon" that had earned himself a place within the Avengers team and Bucky was the former H.Y.D.R.A. operative known as "The Winter Soldier." When Steve had first found his old friend, Bucky had been arrested and charged with the many crimes he had committed as the Soldier.

As recent as just a few days before, there had been quite the media circus surrounding the trial and it's outcome. Bucky had been found "not guilty" by the jury, who had stated that H.Y.D.R.A.'s mind control and torture was enough to acquit him of the crimes. Some people were still calling for blood, stating that Mr. Barnes had gotten off scot-free after nearly seventy years of death and destruction doled out by he and his former affiliations. Since the commanders of H.Y.D.R.A. couldn't be identified and held accountable, The Winter Soldier was the next best scape goat.

Given that Steve was her neighbor and friend, Lina had followed the progression of the trial with keen interest and had been very relieved by the outcome. She was one of the people who, despite the fact that until that very moment had never met Bucky, didn't believe that he should be held accountable for something he had no control over.

Sam smiled and held out his hand for a shake, "Nice to meet you, Ms. Gérard."

"Likewise, Mr. Wilson." Lina replied, shaking his proffered hand.

Bucky, however, had yet to look at her or even acknowledge her existence, so Lina stepped forward, "Hello, Mr. Barnes, it's nice to meet you!" she said, ducking her head to try and meet his downcast gaze.

"It's nice to make your acquaintance." he mumbled, glancing helplessly up at Steve and then turning away, walking further down the hall to stand anxiously in front of Steve's door.

"I'm sorry, he's...well, he's going through a lot of changes and adjustments right now." Steve apologized.

"Ah, it's fine." she said, swatting her hand through the air. "I understand."

"You heard about the trial, then?" Sam asked.

"It's been headline news for weeks, so yeah, I couldn't really miss it." Lina shrugged.

"Do you...agree with the jury?" Steve asked, cautiously.

"I do." she honestly replied. "Judging by the few details that were released, I don't believe he's guilty of anything more than being mistreated and abused for 70 odd years."

Steve released a breath, relieved, "Thank you, Lina."

She smiled, which quickly turned into a frown as her stomach gave a hungry growl, "Well, if you boys will excuse me, I have a date with some pizza, my couch, and my Netflix account."

"Of course. Have a good night." Steve said, laughing.

"Yeah, I'll see you around." Sam chimed.

"Alright, you boys stay out of trouble." Lina grinned at them.

"We'll try our best, ma'am." Steve mock saluted her, as he turned to walk away.

"Oh, and Steve?" she called out.

"Yes?"

"If you or Bucky need anything, I'm right next door, all you have to do is ask."

"Thanks, Lina. That's very kind." Steve replied, knowing that, because of her compassionate heart, she had said that not only on his behalf but even more so on Bucky's.

"Tell him that not everyone is an asshole these days, Steve." she said, nodding toward Bucky still standing down the hall, referring to the bombardment of negative comments he had undoubtedly received. "Goodnight!"

"I'll try and 'night!"

Lina closed her door and set about ordering her pizza.

XXX

This story is actually posted over on ArchiveOfOurOwn as a Bucky x Reader story, so if you prefer that, then head over there and take a look. (It's under the same title as this.) There's more chapters of that version posted there, but I will be adding what I have written to this too. I figured I'd post it here, since I haven't posted anything on this site in years. And since the guidelines of this site prohibit 'x reader' fanfiction, I figured I'd give the main character a name. Anyway, for those of you who don't have an account with Archive, you'll be able to read and get updates for this version of the story here. (I will be continuing it as a Bucky x Reader story over on Archive.) I do hope you enjoy it! Read and review, if you have the time. I'd very much like to hear your thoughts...

~DarkEnigma322