AN: Happy New Year! Sorry that i didn't update last week, but it was boxing day and I was quite drunk.

After every high comes the low, Let's get back to the action.

Enjoy :)

Chapter 9 - An Understanding

"Amazing…" Bruce muttered softly, frowning in concentration as he kneaded his thumbs into Laura's forearm and feeling the blades hidden under the layers of skin and muscle.

All the Avengers had willingly assembled in the medical level, the incident in the arena having left most of them shaken and craving answers. They waited patiently as Tony tapped away on his console and Bruce examined 'X' to make sure that she didn't have any wounds that they couldn't see.

Laura paid no heed to the doctor as he pressed along her bones gently. This wasn't her first rodeo and Bruce was surprisingly humane as he examined her. Her experience of doctors and check-ups weren't exactly pleasant, being grabbed by cold hands that demanded access to whatever body part they needed. Her thoughts were pushed away as Laura noticed that Dr. Banner was getting close to her shoulder, beginning to press through her top instead of bushing it aside like her past doctors had. She been supplied another set of clothes by Widow, which she was grateful for considering that the workout gear had been struggling to stay on her body. She subtly took in a deep breath through her nose before Bruce's fingers pressed down on her collarbone, masking her pain and praying that the pressure didn't re-break the healing bone.

However, her mask wasn't good enough.

"That hurt". Laura sent the red head a small glare but the woman just raised a challenging eyebrow at her.

"Your collarbone's still broken?" Bruce noted intrigued and concerned by the discovery.

"Bones heal slower" Laura said cautiously knowing that she was opening the topic up for discussion.

"Yeah, but still at a superhuman speed" Clint commented from his perch, almost jealously. He'd lost count of how scars he had and he absolutely despised being stuck in hospital beds. Her healing would make his life miles easier.

"More than 'Superhuman'." Tony piped up from his console as a hologram of Laura's body projected out of it. Red dots rapidly appeared on the 3D blue outline before they gradually faded to purple and then disappeared. "Cap and Barnes heal at a superhuman rate but you heal faster than both of them combined."

"If I remember correctly, I probably heal faster than that" Looking back, Laura could remember Winter taking a couple of days to a week to achieve full recovery from serious injuries and broken bones. For her it took minutes and hours.

"Your collarbone…" Bruce searched through his memories, trying to find the exact word Jarvis had used. "It was fractured, right?"

"Shattered is a more accurate description, Dr. Banner. Miss Kinney's left Clavicle was broken in 3 different places" Jarvis informed highlighting the three breakages in yellow on the diagram. "However, from my scans it appears that all three are almost fully healed"

"They'll be done within the next hour or so, nothing to worry about" Laura shrugged at the information supplied. When you spend your whole life healing like she did, you learned to get used to it and not to question it.

"Tony" Steve's authority tone foretold that the scientist was in a lot of trouble. "The arena is off-limits until you can prove that it's safe"

"What? Oh come on, Cap…The arena is perfectly safe!" Tony rolled his eyes at the blonde man. There was nothing wrong with his creation.

"Really?" Natasha held up her shredded and blood-stained yoga pants, managing to make eye contact with Tony through the holes.

Tony glared at her. "Really. Everyone has personalised levels for a reason and on top of that, I told, switchblade here, the emergency stop safety word".

Laura nodded, still confused why their safety word was someone's surname. She had asked Tony, who "Coulson" was and she'd grown uneasy when the man's irritably lively energy faded. His reply had filled him with something that wasn't quite sadness but he'd held back the emotion and answered. Laura didn't know who this Hero was but they clearly meant a lot to the heartless billionaire and probably meant a lot to the rest of them. She knew better than to ask, it wasn't any of her business. "You could use blanks".

Tony turned to look at the girl sitting on the exam table. "Whose side are you on?" She merely rolled her eyes at him, her attention moving onto Captain Rogers.

"Mr. Stark has a point. The level was not designed for me and I could have used the safety word at any point. However I didn't. Overall the arena worked well, the Robots were responsive but lacked human fault and were highly organised. None of which is a bad thing when it comes to training." Steve assessed her as she spoke, taking in the professional attitude that she'd adopted. He was tempted to say that it was the tone a Solider would take when speaking to a commanding officers but it was too detached for that. "The live rounds were a clear safety risk but if that was corrected then, as a person who isn't designed for normal sparring, I can say that it is an effective alternative." With a small smile she turned back to Stark. "Happy?"

"Very. Just remember to give me a 5 star review on trip advisor and we'll be golden" Tony deadpanned causing Clint to let out an involuntary snort.

"Did we ever spar?" The jovial mood plunged as Bucky let the question slip from his lips. The tension returned between him and Laura, making the others anxious and making Bucky wish that he'd kept his mouth shut. He knew that he couldn't force her to answer and he didn't want to piss her off but there was a feeling in his gut that something just wasn't right about this situation. Something just wasn't right about Laura.

"Once" She could tell that the answer had shocked him and the rest of them. Probably it was the fact that it was an actual answer, which had caused such a reaction. She met his gaze with emotionless eyes, not allowing herself to show him anything. "You broke my arm".

Bucky's mind lit up as he realised that she was actually telling him something, processing the information and creating feelings of guilt and the desire for more context. "Sorry" The apology held as much emotion as her eyes did. If she was disconnecting herself from the situation then so could he.

The corners of her lips pulled up into a smile but it failed to reach her eyes. "Don't be. I was trying to slit your throat at the time"

Bucky frowned in confusion, first at her amusement and then at the new info. She'd been trying to kill him? He thought they were friends. On top of that she'd classified it as 'sparring', why had she been aiming for his throat if it was a spar. Why would she have her claws out in the first place? Why was it that even when she answered his questions, that he still ended up completely clueless?!

The silence had continued as Bucky's mind grew frustrated with itself and 'X', nobody daring to comment and interrupt the tension between the two. When the quiet was disturbed it was with a whisper, just aloud enough to gain Laura's attention.

"Could you…" Bruce's thoughtful voice faded out. He made eye contact with Laura before continuing his line of thought. "Do you um…mind?" His voice was louder this time, gaining the other's attention this time. The doctor's hand gestured to her hand, giving context to his request.

Laura didn't answer instead, locking her wrist and allowing her claws to come out, slowly, taking a small amount of pleasure from how their appearance made the tense atmosphere disappear. The Avenger's reactions weren't like what she'd experienced in the past from "normal" people and she was grateful for that.

Bruce stared at them in silent fascination. They were a bit longer than a foot, slim, sharp and protruding out from between her outer knuckles. Droplets of blood spilled out from where flesh and bone met blade.

"Doesn't that hurt?" Clint asked uneasily. He had no issue with blood, he'd dealt with too much of the stuff to get light-headed over a few droplets. But the thought of those blades breaking through bones to get out, made his arms feel numb.

The question made her smile genuinely, reminding her of Logan. It was a natural reaction when the slim blades came slicing through the skin of their knuckles. "Yes" She knew what her father's response would have been but that word held too much vulnerability for her. "But you learn to ignore it".

Bucky's eye twitched slightly at her smile. She was beginning to annoy him, like she was the personification of the gaps in the memory. She was cold towards him with no explanation and even when explaining she was disconnected and vague. But in the mysterious workings of her mind, something about Clint's and Dr. Banner's questions had made her smile. Her cold and defensive attitude had shifted into a warm but distant one. Was it just him? Had he done something or did he just bring up memories she'd rather forget?

"But that still doesn't make any sense…" Bruce sighed, taking off his glasses as he stood. His close proximity to Laura had been making the other guy squirm and he reminded himself that he'd need to question her at some point. Probably when he could talk to her more privately. "With a healing factor as fast as yours, your body should be fighting against foreign objects, especially ones as large as those blades."

Laura's smile fell as she blinked at the uninformed doctor. This had never happened before, all of her past doctors had known more about her than she did. She'd never had to explain and she knew that this was dangerous territory. Dangerous territory that she'd most likely have to sneak through.

Natasha watched intrigued as uncertainty flashed in the bright green eyes before Laura spoke "They aren't foreign objects". After that information had been released, the dark haired woman closed herself off and adopted a casual front. The subconscious actions were very subtle but not subtle enough for Nat.

"I'm sorry, what now?" Tony asked standing up straighter and assessing his new employee, checking for head wounds that clearly would have or at least should have heal by now.

"The blades are bones, my body doesn't reject them because they're a part of my anatomy." She shrugged nonchalantly, eyes appearing disinterested and factual.

Dr. Banner's mouth opened wordlessly before his mind could figure out how to respond. "A part of your anatomy? How?"

"Radiation." Secretly Laura was quite proud of herself for that answer. It was almost half true.

"Sir, Miss. Potts has requested Miss. Kinney's presence in her office to discuss wages" Saved by the AI, Laura hopped off the table, glad that the conversation was on pause for now. Revealing her past would achieve nothing but pity from them.

"On my way" It was better if they didn't know.

"One second missy, we aren't finished here" Tony said stepping forward and putting himself in between her and the door.

"Yes we are, now if you'll excuse me, I need to report to my new boss". Laura snarked wearing a mask of confidence. The mask hide her desperation to get out that door. Like a wild animal cornered, all she cared about at the moment was escaping.

Tony huffed out a laugh, amazed that she thought she could avoid the discussion so easily. Many of the people in the room had been experimented on, willingly or unwillingly, Accidentally or on purpose. Tony knew the ins and outs of all of their procedures, mostly for medical purposes, and Laura wasn't about to be an exception to that rule.

However before Tony could say something stupid, Bruce spoke up. "If we could just get a blood sample then you're free to go" Bruce sighed trying to create a compromise.

Tony sent the Doctor an offended glance but he was once again cut-off before he could comment. "No." The response was almost instinctual for X. Her blood held secrets that she knew were very dangerous in the wrong hands. Sure they were the Avengers but Stark did use to manufacture weapons. She didn't trust them or anyone else with her blood.

"What?" Tony actually felt offended by her refusal. He was going to shoot down the compromise as well but she had no reason to refuse a blood sample. "No way. You have to".

A spark of anger flared in Laura's chest as she glared at the genius "I don't have to do anything. So get out of my way, Stark"

Laura went to step round him but the rich Idiot stepped as well, blocking her path once again, Leading Laura to wonder if the ass was suicidal or something.

"Tony…" Steve sighed, sick and tired of having to reprimand his teammate. Laura clearly wasn't going to co-operate and Tony clearly wasn't about to persuade her. The conversation was getting them nowhere. "Laura go report to Pepper".

"What?" Tony's angry and shock gaze flicked onto Steve giving Laura an opportunity to dodge round him and stride towards the door. At the movement Tony stun round to see Laura's retreating form. "What the hell, Rogers?!" The anger in Tony's gaze thickened as he turned back around to start bickering with The Captain.

The budding argument drew almost everyone's attention, making Laura's exit easier. But one set of eyes stayed on her as she went. She come practically feel Barnes's assessing gaze following her and made an active effort not to look back and meet his eyes.

The walk to the CEO's office was made easy by Jarvis's instructions. She would have gotten lost for sure if it wasn't for the AI's directions.

Pepper had greeted her kindly, probably having no idea that she'd just had a stand-off with her boyfriend. Laura had returned the greeting with energy that she didn't have. She knew the day would be stressful the moment she woke up but she hadn't expected to end up tiptoeing through a minefield of uncomfortable and impossible topics. She'd woken up expecting Bucky to be the one she'd have to mentally (or physically) battle with but she'd underestimated Stark's childishness. She'd been right, the man just couldn't take no for an answer.

After everything that had happened that day she couldn't be blamed for not being super energetic. She barely had the energy to keep a smile on her face so she didn't. She let her polite and pleasant mask fall, finding that it simply was too tiring to maintain it and focus on what Miss. Potts was proposing.

However, surprisingly, Pepper didn't seem offended when she challenged the small print or interrupted her. The business woman took it in her stride, debating the small print and explaining things that Laura didn't understand.

Pepper herself, could easily relate to the whiplash that came with spending too much time around the Avengers. The team worked at a thousand miles a minute and it took time to get used to that. The younger woman was clearly stressing about something. What? She didn't know but she was sure Tony would fill her in later. It had been hard for her to adjust at first but from what Tony had said, it sounded like Laura was going to struggle. Especially if she had been squatting and sleeping rough.

The Process of drawing up an agreement took many hours of sitting in the stylish office, reading silently unless Laura had a query or complaint. When silence did descend it was as peaceful as it could get when Laura felt so wound up. But slowly Pepper watched as the tension trickled out of her body, the dark haired woman's sitting position evolving as whatever rain cloud over her head slowly been to dissipate.

Sadness tinged Pep's gaze as she noticed how the tension didn't completely leave the girl's body. How it clung onto wisps of that rain cloud and held tight.

In that second Pepper could understand Tony's curiosity, the woman clearly had a past. But Pepper knew that these things couldn't be rushed. A clear example was her friendship with Natasha and she knew that the only reason the two of them were close was because the super spy had chosen to let her in.

When green eyes connected, Pepper did her best to flip her sadness into tiredness, adding a small but exhausted smile. Of course Laura didn't totally buy it but failed to see why the CEO would be sad at her. She reasoned that if it had been anyone else staring sadly at her then she'd get wary but this was Pepper Potts.

She wasn't some advanced lie detector or blast from the past, she was the most normal person in this weird nightmare she was having. So gathering up enough energy, Laura returned the small smile before the two returned to what they were doing.

It was dark outside by the time they finished, office lights having flicked on a few hours beforehand to fight against the darkness outside. The wage was settled, contract signed and the tired pair entered the elevator together both pleased with the end result.

In the end her new wage had shocked Laura. She would have been pleased with double what Ford was paying her but it had been much, much more than that. Of course, she'd work less hours and her hours would be determined by Miss. Pott's schedule but the pay, more than made up for that. "The penthouse, ma'am?" Jarvis voice asked as the silver doors slide shut.

"Yes please, could you stop off at Steve and Bucky's floor?" Pep asked already knowing the answer.

"Of course ma'am". The elevator began to ascend as the AI replied.

The silence enveloped them for a single second before Miss. Potts addressed Laura. "I forgot to ask but who would you like to be called?" Laura's eyes snapped to the other woman but the ginger continue before she could think any further on the matter. "I mean on…duty, do you want to be Laura Kinney or…"

"Not really" She'd been so tired that she hadn't really thought about it but it did make sense. Pepper was in the public eye so she couldn't be Laura Kinney on the job. Kinney and even Laura were too dangerous to go telling people about. She'd probably need a disguise as well. But it all lead to the question of what her alias should be. It would need to be simple so that Miss. Potts could remember.

Pepper watched a tired but strangely fond smile creep onto Laura's face and smiled herself, not really caring about what the girl was thinking about, just happy to see a spark of happiness. "Megan Tanaka"

"It's lovely" Pepper's comment brought Laura back from the past. A part of her upset at leaving the happy memories behind but mostly grateful to be ripped away before she made herself even more upset.

The elevator door broke the awkward but almost pleasant air that had formed between the two, revealing the living area of her floor. "Good night, Miss Potts." Laura stepped out, but turned back when her new boss spoke.

"Good night, Miss Tanaka". The strawberry blonde smirked brightly bringing a smile to her lips. The door closed and Laura sighed deeply, the smiled still playing on her lips. She found it odd. She'd spent hours with the business woman, talking nothing but business, and yet Laura found the woman, dare she say, good company. Running from an argument, in a mood most would shrink away from and the CEO had rose to the challenge.

Walking past the couches and kitchenette, Laura realise that she might have underestimated the strength of Pepper Potts.

Any traces of her smile vanished as her tired brain zeroed in on the route to her bedroom door. Or rather caught sight of the person blocking said route. Her step faltered as she made eye contact with the long haired brunette that stood in her way. Metal arm crossed with the flesh one. She recovered her pace, breaking eye contact, trying to act like she'd noticed him when stepping off the elevator. "Good night" she mumbled attempting to bypass him. It didn't work.

Bucky blocked her, watching as green eyes snapped to his, anger rippling through the jade irises.

"You really want to do this?" Laura challenged as she stared into grey eyes of pure determination.

"I want an explanation" It was all he wanted. All he'd thought about all day. Questions tormenting him while knowing exactly where he could get the answers from. Nothing could distract him, no matter how hard Steve had tried. Bucky could understand not telling Tony and the others answers but him? He needed to know why.

His voice held a fight in it, a fight that Laura simply didn't have the energy for. "For what?"

"Everything" The answer almost made her snort.

"You don't want much, do you?" She replied trying again to sidestep him and get past but he copied her movements, blocking her again.

"X" There was a weakness in his voice that shocked the brewing anger out of her. Green searched grey as her brain processed the anxiety behind his gaze. His guard was down, emotion fully on display. His self-doubt, his agitation, his exhaustion. His defenceless gaze revealing emotions that made her tense. It felt wrong to her, to be able to see this much of him. The feeling forced her to look away.

She pushed her hair back, her façade flickering, exposing just how drained she was. "I can't" her words came out in a long sigh as if a weight had just landed on her chest.

"Why?" She didn't have to look at him to know that the walls were back, guarded once more and she felt like she could breathe easy again. The thought of the Winter Solider breaking down seemed preposterous and she was glad that the closed off, objective man was back. It would make explaining much easier.

Bucky could see that she was running the answer through her mind, letting out a small sigh here and there but he gave her time. He'd already waited this long, he could wait a few minutes more. "I can't. They wouldn't be your memories. If I told you everything, I'd be explaining mine. And that won't help anyone".

"They could help…" Bucky argued, the conviction returning to his tone. "Jog my memories or something…"

"Don't be stupid, they'd overwhelm you, Winter" Laura's teeth gritted at his stubbornness. She didn't want to fight him on this and she really didn't have the willpower to argue with him right now. She went to duck past him again.

She got a few steps before Bucky snapped out of his thoughts, metal arm reaching out to grab her arm and holt her. "I still want answers" He stared defiantly into her bitter glare.

"And I told you, Barnes. I'm not about to tell you…" Bucky cut off her enraged words.

"What if they aren't about the past?" He unfortunately had to admit that she had a point. He could predict that many of the memories he would recover would be terrifying and gruesome, and he didn't know how quickly they could return or how bad he could react to them. There was too many risks. It could backfire on him. But it wasn't just the past that was confusing him. "What if they're about now?"

His jaw set, telling X just how serious her old ally was. She almost found it funny how riled up she'd gotten him. How she'd gotten under his skin without intending to. How he was acting so stubborn over answers. "What would you want to know?" She asked warily, not sure what would be bothering him so much about her present.

A thousand questions rushed through his head, everything about her confused him. He quickly searched his mind for a question that had nothing to do with their past. Gradually he focused in on his one question, not knowing if he'd get another chance. "Why are you obsessed with money?"

The question caught her off guard causing a snort of laughter to escape. "Obsessed is a bit strong" She composed her, staring at him amused.

But the brunette shocked his head, dead serious. "Everything you've done so far has been for money. Moving here, becoming a bodyguard, entering the arena. Why?" It was the only thing that seemed to motivate her, which made her primed for Stark to exploit if needed.

And yet, it wasn't the only thing that motivated her, Laura reasoned going over his question in her head. Yes it was a big reason that she did mundane tasks but that was just how the world worked. Money made the world go round. It was essential for human survival, like how food was essential for normal animals. The concept of money had confused her greatly when she'd first entered the rat race that was society but she'd learned. Learned just how vital it was for survival, how reliable it was. As they say, 'Everyone has a price'.

However, Money was not the most powerful motivator that had sway over her. Logan was. It had taken 11 years but she could now safely say that she trusted her father. She trusted others as well, Remi, Jubilee, Rogue, but she knew that Logan would always be there if she needed him. If he was in need of help then she'd give up all the money she owned to get to him. But Laura was very aware that she couldn't tell Bucky any of this. She didn't trust him, she barely trusted anyone and if she didn't trust them then there was no way in hell that she'd rely on them.

The gears in her head became harder and harder to see as Bucky assessed her. Her pensive look gradually grew guarded and emotionless. She was closing herself off from him. Her eyes rose to his, stoic yet slightly timid. "Maybe you're right, maybe I am obsessed…" He watched her carefully, absorbing everything she said, every piece of information. "But at the end of the day, Money will always be more reliable than people".

The way she said it, so 'matter of fact', shook him slightly. She was so detached, so cynical, so cold. It unnerved him greatly. "Good night, Winter" The soft voice and quiet click of a door, snapped him out of it. He was left staring down the empty corridor, not knowing when he'd let go of her arm.

AN: How long do you think Laura can keep her secret life from the Avengers? taking bets now.

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