Chapter 25

[Emily's POV]

It was exactly midnight when I woke up to the gentle creaking of my door being opened. I threw off my blankets quickly and my Wolverine claws unsheathed themselves instinctively. I leapt towards the attacker, ready to strike them down if I needed to.

But they just stood there.

I blinked my eyes a few times before whispering, "Jarvis, manually turn on my lights please."

Bright yellow lights flickered on above me, revealing a disheveled looking Bucky wearing a pure white sleeping tank top, dark gray sweatpants, and the most terrified expression I had ever seen.

"Bucky?" I whispered, confused at his appearance. He never looked that...raggedy. I moved past him and gently shut the door. I turned around to ask him why he came to my room, but he enveloped me in a hug. I froze, not entirely sure what to do. Bucky was hugging me...like an actual hug, not side hug, nothing...

Carefully, I wrapped my arms around his stomach and held him tight. His shoulders began to jerk and I could hear him faintly crying. I shushed him gently and slowly rubbed his back. I lead him over to my bed and sat him down. I folded my legs up underneath me. He refused to meet my eyes, instead content staring down at his feet. As calmly as I could, I moved his head so he was facing me. His beautiful, clear blue eyes were foggy with tears and were rimmed with red.

"Bucky, what happened?" I muttered, brushing his hair back with my fingers. He sniffed and looked like he was trying to talk, but couldn't. "It's ok...you don't have to say anything."

He reached out and grabbed my hand, holding it as if it was his only lifeline into this world.

"Lie down," I said, motioning towards my bed. "I'll get you another blanket." I gently pushed him so he was lying down and untangled my fingers from his hand. I walked over to the small linen closet in my room and grabbed a spare blanket. Walking back, I gently threw it over Bucky. I then moved to the other side of the bed and snuggled back into my covers, my body angled towards Bucky. "Just try to get some rest, Bucky...promise?" Bucky nodded and I smiled before closing my eyes.

The bed shifted a little, and I could feel Bucky was right in front of me. He pressed his forehead against mine and threw an arm over my stomach. I gave another small smile before falling asleep in his warm embrace.

:/:\:

[Wanda's POV]

"Emily! I brought you some..." I began, but my voice died out. Emily and Bucky were lying on her bed, each with a small smile on their sleeping faces. Bucky had an arm draped lazily over Emily and their foreheads were touching each other. I set down the food tray I was carrying and quickly ran to find Natasha and Tony. The master assassin and the billionaire were in an intense game of Gin when I found them.

"Natasha! Tony!" I hissed, trying to make sure I didn't wake up the sleeping couple. "Bucky and Emily are cuddling!"

"My ship!" Tony yelled, leaping to his feet. He knocked into the table, scattering cards everywhere. "Come!" We all raced off, sounding like a pack of hyenas. Once we got to Emily's doorway, we all stood there, smiling happily. Natasha and Tony whipped out their phones and took some professional pictures before walking away.

I grabbed the tray and tried to act like nothing out of the ordinary had happened. I walked over to Emily's side and placed the food on her bedside table. I sat down and leaned over, gently shaking her.

Emily grunted and cuddled closer to Bucky, and I couldn't resist but 'aw' a little. I shook her harder and she blinked her eyes wearily before rolling over, snuggling up in her blankets more.

"W-Wanda?" she stuttered, yawning. She stretched her arms out and jumped when she hit Bucky. "Oh my gosh..." Her face went as red as a tomato. "I swear, this isn't what it looks like..."

"I know," I laughed, and she narrowed her eyes at me. "I brought you breakfast. Considering you've had a pretty rough week."

"Thanks, Wanda," she said, holding her hands out greedily.

"You might want to wake the sleeping giant first," I teased, reaching over to poke Bucky's arm. The man grunted and dragged Emily closer to him, causing her to squeal and me to burst out laughing. The 40s man shivered before blinking his eyes. His eyes widened slowly as he assessed what position he and Emily were in. He let out a string of curses before shoving Emily away from him and jumping back.

"Wanda, you say anything to anybody..." Bucky threatened, draping an arm over his eyes.

"I won't," I said, miming zipping up my mouth. "Now, let the sleeping woman eat her breakfast." I grabbed Emily's breakfast and handed it to her. Instantly, Bucky was back at her side, stealing away a pancake and two pieces of bacon.

"Mine!" Emily hissed, shoving Bucky with her shoulder. Bucky rolled his eyes but ignored her, munching on his bacon happily. "Sometimes, I don't know why I put up with you."

"Because you love me," he teased, shoving the pancake into his mouth. Emily sarcastically mimicked him as she ate her pancake, and the duo seemed to forget I was sitting there.

Without warning, the alarm suddenly blared, bathing us all in a red light.

"What's that?" Bucky asked, leaping to his feet. He was instantly on alert. "Wanda, stay here with Emily. I'm going to grab my gun." I nodded and Bucky raced out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

"We're not really going to stay here, are we?" Emily asked hopefully. I shook my head in agreement and we stalked towards the door. Emily opened it with her magic and I peeked out. Nobody in the hallway.

"Clear," I whispered and we continued on, occasionally checking behind us to make sure Bucky wasn't there. We dashed down the stairs and came to the middle of the living room.

"That's weird..." Emily said, sniffing. "What's that smell?"

I took a small sniff and was overwhelmed by the smell of almonds.

"Almonds," I told her, raising an eyebrow in confusion. Emily shivered and her eyes widened.

"Steve's allergic to almonds though," she whispered.

"C-4!" I screamed just as the entire wall of the compound blew up.