Chapter 13

[Emily's POV]

A couple more weeks passed, and I rarely saw Bucky. Usually, it was only glimpses before he turned down a different hallway or excused himself from dinner, even though he hadn't touched his food. I did my best not to be upset by it, but I was really missing his companionship. Wanda was going above and beyond to make up for it, including me in things that, according to Steve and Clint, she considered a 'her-and-Pietro' thing. I quickly learned that Pietro was her twin brother, a genetically-enhanced individual like Wanda, who had been killed in Sokovia a while before I had made an appearance.

I continued my therapy-slash-training with Clint and Natasha, since Bucky obviously wasn't going to and Dixon had been busy with other things. Before I knew it, I was acing hand-to-hand combat. They insisted I used my abilities, but I was still holding back, not wanting to accidentally slice one of their faces off.

One day of training was particularly hard.

I narrowed my eyes and took a deep breath, focusing my mind. I whipped my arm around and in one smooth motion, I perfectly sliced a metal representation of a Hydra goon in half. Clint clapped from where he was standing, a far enough distance so he wouldn't be caught in the crossfires.

"Nice work!" he commented, coming closer as soon as my claws were back in my hands. "Now, as I was saying earlier about your training, we..." He broke off when a loud bang rang through the room. The two of us turned and saw Bucky standing there with an expression of disbelief and confusion written on his face.

"I thought you were training earlier," he said gruffly, avoiding eye contact with me.

"Since Nat had meetings all today, we decided to push out training a couple of hours," Clint explained, eyeing the tension between the two of us. "Feel free to use the gym. We'll just be here." Bucky tensed up, but walked to the other side of the gym, dropping his gym bag to the floor. I jumped a little at the loud noise it produced. "Hey Em, you doing alright?"

"I'm fine!" I squeaked, turning to Clint. He raised an eyebrow at me and I subconsciously ran my hands through my hair. "I mean...I'm sorry, Clint. Things still haven't gotten better between Bucky and me."

"I know just the thing," Clint said, giving me his signature smirk and wink. I froze as he turned and cupped his hands around his mouth. He wouldn't...

"Hey Bucky! How about a little one-on-one with Emily?"

The man stopped and turned towards us and I could feel heat rushing to my face. There was an awkward silence before he answered, "No thanks."

"Aw come on!" grumbled Clint back. "I need someone who can match Emily in her fighting abilities. Not saying I'm weak or anything, but you have a metal arm." I could see the muscles tensing up in Bucky before he groaned and nodded. "Great! Meet in the boxing arena."

"If I don't die from this fight, I'm going to kill you," I hissed to Clint as I slipped through.

"You'll thank me later," Clint replied, giving my back a supportive pat. "Now, rules of the game. There are no rules!" Bucky gave a little chuckle before Clint ran around the ring, dinging the bell. "Fight!" I held my hands up protectively in front of my face as me and Bucky began to circle each other. Bucky dashed forward, lashing out with his fist. I ducked underneath it, then grabbed his arm, catapulting myself onto his back. My arm wrapped around his throat and I began to squeeze.

"I just wanted to say," I growled through gritted teeth, trying to focus on not getting thrown off. "Thank you for what you did in Germany." He used his metal arm and grabbed my wrist. He easily ripped me off his back and threw me across the arena. I landed hard and felt the wind get knocked out of me. "Guess we're still not talking."

"Focus on the fight, Emily," Bucky responded, rushing me. I did a backwards somersault, dodging a mean elbow that would've cracked one of my ribs. I grabbed his neck with my hand and used it to steady myself as I brought my knee up towards his face. It connected and he hissed in pain, jumping away. "See?"

"I want us to be friends again," I insisted, spreading my hands out in front of me. "Back as we were before Germany and this whole mess started."

"Why do all world-ending conflicts happen in Germany?" Clint randomly commented from where he was leaning up against the wall.

"Shut it, Barton," I spat to him, and he raised an eyebrow.

"Who gave you that mouth, your mother or your father?" Bucky sneered, and I froze, unimaginable anger filling up in me. I ran towards him and called on my Wolverine claws. Bucky's eyes widen and he barely escaped, my claws just barely scratching his arm before he ducked out of the way. I turned to face him, pointing my claws at him.

"Never mention my father again," I hissed before climbing out of the arena and stalking away from the gym.

:/:\:

[Bucky's POV]

I scoffed as Emily stalked away, grumbling curses. Probably at me.

"What's her deal?" I grumbled, turning towards Clint. Instantly, I was stumbling back, hot white pain racing through my system. Clint just punched me. "What the..."

"Are you an idiot naturally or did the Russians make you one?" spat Clint, balling his hands into fists. "You are the most insensitive jerk I've ever met, and I've met Tony."

"What are you rambling about?" I yelled back.

"Emily's father is MIA," Clint responded, and I stopped, my eyes widening in doubt. "Don't believe me? It was our fault. He got called in to help defend New York when the Chitauri came and invaded. She was twelve when he went missing. She's eighteen right now. Six years, Bucky. She's been without a father figure in her life for six years, and you just had to insult her about it."

"I-I never knew," I stuttered, trying to recompose myself. "She never mentioned her father to me...only her mom."

"Oh, don't even get me started on that woman," Clint rambled, rubbing his eyes. "She's even worse." I opened my mouth to ask how, but Clint interrupted me, saying, "When Emily's ready to tell you, she will. Until then, go out there and apologize to her. She needs support and you might be the only one who can give that to her."

A/N: Hey everybody! It's a little shorty, but don't worry! I'm going to try and get Chapter 14 up in a few days! Enjoy!