Chapter 1

For the amount of money Tony Stark spent on the Avengers Initiative, you'd think the walls of the Avengers compound wouldn't be quite so thin. Or maybe her asshole neighbor was just exceptionally loud, because among her many skills, Lizzy did not possess super hearing, yet she had the misfortune to hear everything going on next door. It wouldn't bother her quite so much if her own dry spell hadn't gone on for far too long. Or maybe it would, everything Bucky Barnes did bothered her. But god, this flavor of the week sure was a screamer. Either Barnes was a generous lover or she watched a lot of porn. The high-pitched screeching was almost impressive, Becky-Britney? Bridget? - must have made it a personal goal to alert everyone in the compound of her current activities. How did Barnes manage to get off with the wailing coming from his partner?

She'd only arrived a few hours ago from a particularly annoying and unsuccessful mission, this was the last thing she needed. She needed some goddamn sleep, and she was this close to punching Barnes in his infuriating face. Or maybe his dick, then she might be able to sleep for one night without the banging and moaning on the other side of the wall.

Lizzy considered herself a friendly person. She may not be everyone's cup of tea, but she got along well with everyone at the compound, with one giant, cocky, smug exception. When Barnes arrived at the compound fresh from Wakanda he was sulky, moody, reserved. That was fine-he'd been through hell and back, it was only natural that he wouldn't be jumping for joy to join the team. Steve asked for patience for his friend and it was granted, even from Tony who, frankly, had a legitimate reason to hold a grudge against the ex-assassin. Bucky slowly started to warm up to the team. He was, if not friendly, civil and polite. But something about Lizzy seemed to rub him the wrong way, because no matter how much progress he made in his recovery, no matter how nice she was to him, no matter how much he regained his confidence-his 1940's swagger- he always seemed to have a scowl reserved just for her.

After about a year with the team, Bucky became-if not the Bucky from before the war- a version of Bucky that could joke, smile, and-most importantly- convince every woman in the room to share his bed. And boy did he succeed. There seemed to be a never-ending stream of women coming in and out of Bucky's room. Some were one night stands, some lasted for a week or two-the record was a month so far- but they were all, without exception, beautiful, conceited, and usually a fork or two short of a cutlery set. Lizzy wasn't bitter-she wasn't! – and she wouldn't care quite so much if it didn't rob her of her sleep. Sleep is very important, especially to Lizzy, and she would be damned if Bucky fucking Barnes was the reason for her perpetual bad mood.

Lizzy looked at her phone-3 in the morning- god these people had endurance, and gave up on a night of sleep in her room. She sighed and got out of bed with an exaggerated stomp, as if anyone was there to witness her frustration, grabbed her phone and pillow and headed to the elevator. Just as she pressed the "up" button, Becky- Brandy? Bailey?- sauntered out of Barnes' room. She didn't spend the night- they never did- and Lizzy wondered if Barnes was considerate enough to arrange for a ride home for the poor girl or just left her to fend for herself in the middle of the night. Becky- fuck it- gave Lizzy a saccharine smile, it would be pretty if it weren't so fake, and looked her up and down.

"What are you up to at this time of night? Finally found someone to keep you company at night?" Smug bitch. She was one of those of girls, the ones who really believed they were here for the long haul, they were the ones who would finally get Barnes to commit. She'd been around for about three weeks now, and she hated Lizzy for no apparent reason. Becky looked her up and down with a critical eye, "no, that can't possibly be it."

Bucky appeared in his doorway. He gave Lizzy a satisfied grin, no shame whatsoever, and turned to Becky.

"What are you still doing here doll?"

"Just chatting, I'm heading home now. I'll see you soon baby." She gave Bucky a simpering smile and he responded with a wink, "Sure thing, sweetheart."

The elevator arrived and Becky climbed in, giving Lizzy one last glare as the doors closed. Lizzy turned back to her room- maybe now that Bucky's guest was gone she could actually get some sleep- only to be rudely interrupted.

"You seem upset doll."

"Don't give me that Barnes, I couldn't sleep with the performance you were putting on next door."

"It's called sex doll, maybe if you got any you wouldn't be so uptight all the time."

"Don't call me doll, and maybe if you weren't an inconsiderate jackass you would think about how other people need to sleep at three in the morning."

"No one else seems to mind Santiago, you should un-bunch your panties and maybe you could find some poor soul to throw you a bone."

Before doing something that Tony would pretend to be angry about, she marched to her room and slammed the door. She wouldn't give Barnes the satisfaction of knowing he had hit a nerve.