Somehow, Anna managed to calm down her hormones enough to fall back to sleep with no more trips to the kitchen for ice cubes. In fact, she spent the rest of her sleeping hours in a dreamless state. Perhaps her subconscious had gotten out all of the tension with that random dream. All she knew was she woke up feeling pretty well rested. Here shoulder was sore, but that was nothing new. James was sitting up beside her, awake, which wasn't a surprise, seeing as he always seemed to wake up earlier than her. He had had his eyes trained on the TV. The volume was practically turned off, so it took Anna a minute to realize he was re-watching one of the movies from last night: Tangled. It had been the last one they watched, meaning it was all set up to go and he wouldn't have had to leave the bed to start it. Anna knew he'd remain as still as possible until she woke up, not wanting to risk moving and stirring her awake.
As soon as she stirred, James' attention fell on Anya. He hadn't wanted to wake her earlier, figuring she could use the sleep after last night. Waking in the middle of the night to find Anya's side of the bed empty had his heart sinking in fear. It was unusual for Anya to wake without him being aware of it. He supposed he had been rather tired himself after sparring with Steve, not accustomed to using that much physical exertion when training. Not that the realization of why he had slept through Anya awakening did anything to calm him about her missing. He immediately went searching for her, his anxiety dying down a little when he'd finally found her in the kitchen.
Anya had seemed startled when he called out to her, refusing to meet his eyes afterwards. James had wanted so bad to press the issue, knowing that something was off with her. However he restrained, figuring it was a nightmare of sorts that had her up in the middle of the night. If she wanted to discuss it with him, she would. He understood the desire to work through inner demons alone. It was why he had yet to say a word about his own night terrors. Although, as of recently, they hadn't been as much of a common occurrence. Not since Anya started staying with him throughout the night.
Perhaps her nightmares were occurring because of the old memories that everyone had drudged up. It had him thinking, maybe she would be more comfortable if she slept alone, until she worked through her past issues with Brent. Of course, her being the one to suggest they return to his room went against that last theory. Honestly, it had him feeling a bit relieved. James didn't want to go back to sleeping without her if he could help it. He would if she needed it, he just really hoped it never came to that.
"Good morning," Anya murmured sleepily. It always took her a few minutes to come to in the morning. James found that oddly endearing. "What time is it?"
"Half past eight," James answered before reaching down to smooth some of Anya's hair out of her face. "Are you hungry?"
"No," Anya sounded a bit more alert as she turned her eyes on him, looking up through her lashes. James wasn't sure if it was intentional or not. "I was thinking maybe you could show me those moves I could do with the sling." Anya's request had James thinking she was intentionally playing her eyes against him. Had she already figured out the affect they had on him? If so he was in trouble.
"I'm not sure you're ready," James started hesitantly. He didn't want to train her too early. For one, he didn't want her getting injured worse. For another, the longer he could hold off training her, the more time it would give Steve and him to track down Hydra.
"If you had it your way, I'd never be ready. You promised you'd start training me today." Anna insisted, not accepting no for an answer. "Besides, my physical therapy with Bruce isn't until later this afternoon." Bruce had some work to do in his lab. After the whole getting shot fiasco, Anna had almost forgotten Bruce wasn't really a fixing people doctor. He was a researcher, and he did have a job, other than helping Anna get the use of her arm back.
"Do you need to change first?" James finally relented, knowing he wouldn't be able to convince Anya to just relax two days in a row. He was lucky he'd managed it yesterday.
"I can wear this!" Anna exclaimed immediately, not wanting to waste any time. Her clothes would do. Besides, when the plan was carried out she would be wearing normal clothes. She needed to prepare for similar circumstances.
With a sigh James moved towards the dresser, slipping on pants before turning to Anya. He didn't have to wait long before she was beside him. Her eagerness was clearly evident, and if he didn't have the possibility of her plan coming to fruition looming over his head, he would have found it amusing. No matter how much he didn't like the plan, James had to admit it would make him feel better knowing Anya was properly trained. Which was why he forced himself to push away his prejudice once they were in the gym.
"You're going to learn how to deflect first," James stated as they stood facing one another on the mat. "You can have the best offensive moves, and lose because your defensive maneuvers are lacking."
Reaching out James pulled Anya's good arm up in front of her face, instructing that the guard would deflect most hits aimed at her face. As long as she kept her arm strong. He moved on to show her how to use her stature against her opponent, maneuvering herself so that the opponent's weight would be a disadvantage. It wasn't until a couple hours later, after fine tuning the basic moves, that they put those moves to the test. James began the attack, of course he didn't put his all into it like he had with Steve.
Anna quickly learned that even defensive moves were difficult with only one arm. Of course, James avoided sending hits to her left side. Most likely because of her injury. The problem was, Hydra wouldn't be so accommodating. It had Anna even more determined to get her arm back to working order. Even she could admit the plan wouldn't go well if she couldn't properly defend herself. And that meant she needed both her arms to be mobile. At least with today's lesson she was learning the defensive maneuvers, something she could put to use once she had her left arm back.
James had to admit, Anya was doing fairly well keeping pace, even managing to deflect some of his 'hits.' Caught up in the flow of the sparring, James found it increasingly difficult to hold back his strength. His momentum was getting the best of him, causing him to over swing. Anya managed to duck his arm, stepping back to counter his forward steps. They were off the mat before he managed to stop. It was really only because they had reached the wall that James was able to halt his forward momentum. Afraid that he might have injured Anya, it took him a moment to realize how close they were. His body formed a cage around hers, so close that he could feel her body heat radiating against him. It had his heartbeat spiking, beating faster than it already was.
"Sorry," James apologized, ashamed at letting his control slip. Taking a step back, he immediately noticed the dent his left fist had made in the wall, just a foot from where Anya's head was. It had a sick feeling twisting in his stomach. Before he could dwell too long on what would have happened if he hadn't hit the wall, Anya's sporadic breathing tore his attention back to her.
Anna had been doing well. She had actually been surprised, seeing as it was her first go round with sparring. Of course, she'd had some basic self-defense lessons after Brent, but it wasn't near as expansive as what James was teaching her. When James starting picking up the pace, she had taken it as a sign that he agreed with her opinion on her progress. There was no denying the increased tempo had her lungs constricting more, but Anna knew she could handle it as long a she kept her breathing even. It would have been perfectly fine, if James hadn't pinned her to the wall. Of course, he hadn't meant to.
He probably wasn't even aware the effect of having his body pressed up against hers had on her. Anna was acutely aware of him. She felt her breathing becoming more difficult as she stared at his chest just inches from her face. It was her own fault. She hadn't even thought of taking her rescue inhaler before sparring. If she had, she could have avoided the embarrassment of her asthma being pushed over the edge, initiating an attack, because James happened to get close.
Of course, when James realized Anya was having an attack, he immediately took a step towards her. He stopped when she held her hand up, managing to get out one word: space. She needed space to breathe. Placing her hands on her head she focused on inhaling through her nose and exhaling through her mouth. Her inhaler was upstairs in her room, there was no way she was getting to it in time. So she focused on opening up her chest and calming down her breathing. After a minute she managed to get it together and her breathing slowed to a more natural rhythm.
"I shouldn't have pushed you so hard. That was reckless," James murmured, stepping closer once Anya's breathing had returned to normal. He had felt so helpless when he realized Anya was having another attack and there was nothing he could do about it. What was worse was he had been the one to cause it. He had gone too hard on her, increased the tempo of their sparring too much. Her lungs couldn't handle that.
"I know what you're thinking. But I can handle this. I just need to use my inhaler beforehand," Anna insisted, knowing James would try and use this as an excuse not to train her. An excuse to exterminate her plan. He still might try. But she'd wait until he did before admitting it wasn't the workout that had pushed her asthma over the edge, it was James.
"I think that's enough training for today." Anna wasn't sure if that was James' way of accepting her explanation or him dismissing it. Either way, she had to agree. They'd been at it for hours, her lungs and body were tired, her shoulder was burning, and now that she had stopped moving, Anna felt the uncomfortable stickiness of sweat. Which was why she headed straight for the shower when they returned to Tony's floor.
It wasn't until she instructed Jarvis to ask Pepper to come help her undress for her shower that Anna discovered Pepper and Tony weren't in the building. Apparently they were at a business luncheon and wouldn't be back for an hour. Which was just perfect. With her arm in the sling, Anna was kind of limited on options. There was no way she was asking Steve to help her. Not after she had just managed to convince James there was nothing going on between them. Bruce was a good option, seeing as he had seen her without her shirt when he stitched up her wound, but he was locked up in his lab. It left Anna with no other choice.
"Jarvis, can you let James know I need some help?" As much as it mortified her to have to ask James, especially after her dream, it was the only solution she could think of. She needed a shower, and she couldn't remove her shirt without help.
It startled James when the electronic voice that seemed to come from nowhere spoke to him. Anya had explained to him that Jarvis was an artificial intelligence program Tony had created, and that he acted as a pseudo-butler to the family, but James still hadn't gotten accustomed to it. When the voice alerted him that Anya needed his help, James' thoughts initially went towards her being injured or in the process of another asthma attack. It had him rushing to her bedroom, only to find her seemingly fine, albeit looking a little bashful.
Before he could ask, she was off, explaining at a rapid pace and in more words than were strictly necessary, that she needed someone to help her remove her shirt over her hurt shoulder so she could shower because Pepper wasn't there. He simply nodded his head, causing Anya to remove the sling carefully as he stepped towards her. Reaching out, he took a hold of the hem of her tee, pulling it up slowly so as not to jostle her arm. His hand brushed her skin as he worked the material up, sending a thrill through him. He tried to advert his eyes, but they kept coming back to the soft curves of her waist. Once he got the shirt over her injured arm, handing it to her, it was even harder to keep his eyes from straying down.
James didn't get a chance to register the blush that was growing deeper, turning Anya's cheeks red, as she abruptly turned away from him. With her back to him, he got a clear view of her wound. It was the first time he had really seen it. It was still red along the edges of the wire that held it together, though it looked to be healing fairly nicely. There would definitely be a scar, a forever reminder of what Hydra had done to her. Before his anger at Hydra could grow, Anya spoke up, asking something else of him.
Her voice was barely a whisper when she asked if he could get the bra. Just unclasp it. She could manage the rest. The request had his palms sweating. Wiping them off on his pants, he reached up to unhook the last of the material that covered Anya up top. Once again, his hands brushed against her skin, and it had his heartbeat going sporadic. As soon as he was finished, James adverted his eyes to the floor before abruptly leaving. If he stayed any longer, he wouldn't be able to stop his eyes from wandering again. His heart already felt like it was about to beat out of his chest, James didn't know if it could withstand much more. He needed to both cool and calm himself down, so he tried the shower route himself. But the cold water couldn't drown out the feelings. Even when James closed his eyes, he could see Anya's smooth skin. She wasn't all muscles, there was a delicate softness to her. He liked that.
Turning off the water once he realized the shower wasn't doing much, James decided he needed a distraction. Something to take his mind off of his feelings. That's when he headed back to the gym. Jarvis had informed him that Pepper had returned, meaning Anya wouldn't require his assistance after her shower. In a way, James was both relieved and disappointed. He really needed to get that image of her out of his head if he wanted to stay sane.
He was in the middle of hitting the punching bag senseless, resulting in it breaking off from the clip that held it and smashing it into the wall, when he felt a presence behind him. Breathing deeply he turned to find Steve standing just feet behind him, studying the broken bag.
"Letting out some frustration?" Steve guessed, moving to setup a new bag on the hook. "Jarvis said you were training Anna earlier. How'd it go?"
"She's an eager student. It went well," James commented gruffly. It's not that he didn't want Anya to learn how to defend herself. He just didn't like the reason why she was learning. That mixed with the intense feelings rushing inside him at the memory of helping Anya undress had James' frustration skyrocketing.
"Don't lose hope yet. She still has the sling. We have time to find Hydra before she has to try those moves out on Hydra agents." Steve's comment was meant to reassure James, but all he could think about was how a Hydra agent wouldn't hold back against Anya like he had. They wouldn't hesitate to hurt her, as long as it got them what they wanted. "And I was thinking, perhaps Sam could help us out."
"No," James stated firmly. He didn't trust the sidekick. And the more people involved in this meant the bigger chance of something getting screwed up. There was no room for error when it came to ensuring Anya's safety.
"Alright it was just a suggestion," Steve answered, holding his hands up in surrender. He didn't want to push his luck with Bucky. "Have you thought any about when we'll take the trip back to Brooklyn?"
James hadn't. And if Steve knew what his morning entailed, he'd understand why. There was no question that it would be difficult, sneaking away from the tower. More so for James, as Anya would most likely question his absence. Night would be an ideal time, to go when Anya was sleeping. But then he ran the risk of her waking up alone, thinking the worst when she couldn't find him, and disobeying Tony by leaving the tower in search of him. He wouldn't put any of that past her; she was stubborn. And she always seemed to put his well-being above her own.
"It has to be when Anya's distracted." It would take at least two hours to get to Brooklyn and have a good look around. James couldn't imagine what would keep Anya distracted for that long. They would need to figure it out sooner rather than later. As the longer they waited, the more they risked losing any evidence Hydra might have left behind. If they left any at all.
"I'm not sure if there's anything that can distract her enough that she doesn't notice your absence," Steve commented with a sly smile. Whether Anna noticed it or not, she was attuned to Bucky and as such, was with him more often than not. The only time she wasn't was when she was at physical therapy with Bruce. In short, Anna was smitten with Bucky.
"Do you think the doctor would agree to help?" James asked, not fully understanding Steve's comment and therefore choosing to ignore it. "He could keep Anya longer at therapy to give us time to get to Brooklyn?" Steve wasn't sure about bringing Bruce into the plan. Sam was different, his loyalty lied with Steve, and he wouldn't tell the others about the plan. Bruce was one to do what he thought to be right. Plus, Tony and Bruce were pretty close. There's no telling if he'd spill their intentions to Tony, who was an advocate of Anna's plan.
"Maybe. But right now we've got a bigger issue to deal with than distracting Anna," Steve commented, as movement behind Bucky caught his attention.
Turning to see what Steve was referring to, James saw Anya approaching them with a smile. It wasn't hard to guess what she was happy about. She wasn't wearing her sling. The doctor had cleared her to remove it. It had anxiety clawing at James at the thought that she was one step closer to putting her insane plan into action.
"I'm free! Well, sort of," Anna announced happily as she came to stand before Steve and James. "Bruce says I can have a few hours out of the sling to see how it goes, but I have a double session with him tomorrow."
James met Steve's glance briefly at Anya's words. A double session with the doctor might just give them the opportunity they needed. Without having to ask the doctor for help, and possibly compromising their plan. If so, it might be one good thing that comes from Anya being cleared so soon, even if it was just on a trial basis.
"He claims he also needs to do a psych evaluation as well before it's even an option to put me in the midst of a hostile environment." Anna continued, not noticing the look the two men shared. She was too excited at the small amount of freedom she was granted. Of course, she still didn't have full range of her arm, and it ached after therapy as it always did. Still, it gave her hope.
James couldn't help hoping that Anya failed the evaluation. Was that wrong of him? To hope that Bruce didn't find her emotionally and mentally ready to put herself in the midst of a possible war zone. It's not that James wanted Anya to be internally scarred by the shooting. He just wanted any reason possible to keep her away from Hydra. To keep her safe. He knew too well the mental and emotional damage Hydra was capable off, and he didn't want to risk Anya being subjected to that if they got their hands on her.
"James? Are you going to say anything about this?" Anna asked gently, pointing to her left arm that she held gingerly by her side.
"If I say what I really think, it'll just make you upset." James responded blatantly, his words causing Steve to nudge him with his elbow. Apparently that wasn't the right thing to say.
"You think it's too soon," Anna murmured, her smile slipping from her face. She wanted James to be as happy as she was.
"It doesn't matter what I think, I'm not a doctor." James didn't like the fact that he was the reason Anya had lost her smile. He wanted to make her happy, he just didn't want to lie to her to achieve that. "If the doctor truly thinks you might be ready to be without the sling, it means you are healing. That does make me happy." That was the truth.
…
Anna had to admit, her shoulder was killing her. It had been out of the sling for two hours now, and the difference was definitely noticeable. She had taken advantage of her sling-less state, making grilled cheese for her and James and relishing in being able to hold food in both hands for a change. Anna was paying the price for over-using it now, reaching for her pain killers on the bedside table. When James had asked her what she wanted to do after dinner, she immediately pulled him back towards his bedroom. She wanted to curl up with him and just relax.
"Does your scar ever hurt?" Anna asked as she turned back towards James. It was something she had considered on and off since she'd gotten shot. She was curious to know if, once her wound healed, it would still hurt.
"My bullet wound healed a while ago, but yes I still experience some pain from it." James' answer wasn't the one Anna had been anticipating, nor had it been what she'd meant when she asked the question.
"That's not the scar I was referring to." Anna murmured, slightly embarrassed as her eyes darting from James' confused stare to his left shoulder. James had insisted on taking a shower before joining Anna on the bed. When he returned from the bathroom he was dressed only in jeans, meaning his scar was visible. It's not that it was a big deal to her, because it wasn't. It was just another part of James. It just had her contemplating if it ever hurt him, mostly because of the aching pain in her shoulder. Anna wanted to know if older scars still hurt as bad as the fresh ones. It didn't take long for James to realize what Anna had meant.
"It hurts sometimes." James answered softly, trying to gauge why Anna had asked the question. "Mostly it's the shock to the nerves that hurts, when wires in the arm misfire." Whenever the circuit short-wired inside, it hurt like Hell. Normally Hydra's mechanics would take care of the maintenance that his arm required. Here, James wasn't sure who to ask for help on the issue.
"Tony might be able to fix that," Anna responded after a short pause. "He's good with technology and mechanical stuff." If Tony could build Iron Man and design Jarvis, fixing James' mechanical arm shouldn't be a huge issue.
James remained silent on the issue. He wasn't sure if he trusted Tony to work on his arm, seeing as when they first met he'd threatened James. It was no secret Tony and James didn't get along, though recent events had decreased the tension between the two. Giving Tony access to his arm would put James at a disadvantage. It would be placing himself under Tony's care, and that required trust that Tony wouldn't do anything to hurt him or screw up his arm worse. James wasn't sure if he was ready for that.
When James didn't respond, avoiding her gaze, Anna reached out, hesitantly tracing his scar with her fingers. It had him inhaling sharply, and made her hand pause momentarily. Glancing up she saw his eyes flutter shut. It was the relaxed set of his jaw that reassured Anna enough to continue her earlier ministrations. Letting her fingers move along the edge of his shoulder, just before metal met skin, she let herself explore James' skin. The scar tissue was raised, smooth and slightly paler than the rest of his skin. The texture fascinated her, and had her wanting to press her lips against it.
"Do you remember anything before or after the procedure?" She asked curiously as she continued to skirt her fingers lightly over the scar, refraining from the desire to kiss along its edges.
"I woke up in the middle of it," James responded softly, making Anya look up at him with horror in her eyes. With Anya, he knew it was horror for what he'd been through, not for what he was or what he'd done. She was the first person who hadn't been terrified of him and his metal arm.
"That must have been terrifying." Anna couldn't imagine what it would be like, waking up in the middle of an operation like that. Had they even truly sedated him, had he had any pain medicine? Anna couldn't see Hydra caring whether he hurt or not back then, when they certainly hadn't cared while she was with them. The thought of what torture he must have endured had a tight knot forming in the pit of her stomach.
"It wasn't fun," James agreed, a faraway look in his eyes. Just the thought that he might be reliving that memory had Anna curling up against him, laying her head against his chest for the first time in what felt like forever. The sling prevented her from being able to lay close to him. She wasn't sure what to say to make him feel better, to set him at ease. Unknown to her, her presence, her acceptance, was enough comfort for James.
"Shouldn't you have your sling back on," James murmured as he ran his fingers through her hair. Anna wasn't sure how long they had been laying like that in silence. It was soothing, even more so with James' playing with her hair.
"Just a little longer," She pleaded, hugging him a little tighter. With her sling, she wouldn't be able to snuggle into him like she was. It was one of the things she missed most when she was forced to wear it. All she wanted was to be that close to him for a little while longer.
A/N: Hey everyone! Thanks so much for the reviews and follows/favorites! This chapter was, once again, not as action packed. I promise the action returns in the next chapter! I'm planning on this story having about 28 chapters, so it's starting to come to an end BUT I will be starting the SEQUEL immediately after. So for those of you who have an account, following me as an author will alert you to when the sequel is out. However, since I'll be starting the sequel as soon as the last chapter of this story is written, I'll try to include in the author's note what day the first chapter of the sequel will be posted! For those interested, for my BRUCE/OC story, I'm thinking the OC will be named Lucy. I'm going to try to get the next chapter up by Saturday night. Of course, it depends on how well the internet works at my boyfriend's parent's house as that's where I will be spending the weekend. If for some reason I cannot connect to the internet, I'll upload it Sunday night as soon as I'm back at my apartment with reliable wi-fi.
Onto Guest Review Responses!
To creativeBUBBLE: since your PM is off I'm responding to your review here! Glad you liked the dream and the chapter! Hope you enjoy this one just as much :)
To Hannah: Glad you enjoyed the sparring! And the bit of Jealous James :) I enjoy James being jealous or protective. Actually, I like James doing just about anything lol. I thought you'd appreciate a Bruce/OC story! I already have the little bit where they first meet planned. ^_^ So happy you enjoyed Bruce appearing in this chapter. Yes, it was only a dream. It's a little too soon for them to be doing any of that stuff. Anna will have to make due with dreams lol.
To the guest who started their review with a squeal*! So happy I got that reaction out of ya. It must mean ya loved the chapter. I agree, tracking Hydra is a good bonding experience for James and Steve. I'm glad you appreciate me delving a little deeper into Bruce's character. I feel that secondary characters are just as important as the main ones. There has to be a reason for any character to appear in a work of fiction, even the more minor ones.
To the guest who apologized for not reviewing in ages: It's all good, thanks for reviewing on this chapter! Congrats on the new job! Yay for you liking how I write Janya's relationship. It's nice to hear their interactions/relationship is realistic. Although with such compliments comes the added pressure of continuing with those expectations. I hope I never stray into the too lovely and super cute, as I wouldn't want to tug on a pet peeve of yours! I like to write moments of peace between James and Anna, but I always strive to pull in the realities of their situation and life in general. Hopefully I didn't make it too cutesy this chapter! Also, thank you for pointing out that James/Steve bonding is difficult to write. Because it is! I am trying to move it along at a realistic pace, as James isn't going to all of a sudden be best buddies with Steve. Not until he learns to trust him and he starts getting some more memories back, as well as making new memories. True, there wasn't a lot of action last chapter or this chapter, but as mentioned in my note, there is more to come. I agree, romantic scenes aren't always easy, especially when I am trying to do it in a classier way. Glad you thought I pulled it off alright, even if it was just a dream. It makes me happy that you'd read anything I write. Note for you if you do check out my other stuff, some of it is older and I've grown as a writer since posting them so be gentle if you check them out and review! Happy to hear you'd enjoy a Bruce story. I agree, his character is a complex one and I'm looking forward to exploring it when I get to his story.
To the guest who started their review with 'Hub-ba hub-ba': Glad you liked Anna's dream lol. I gave ya a taste of how James sees Anna, though no dream for him just yet. I'm not sure if he'd know what to do with himself if he had such a dream.
To the Guest who said they'd think a Bruce/oc story would be wonderful: Thanks for letting me know! I'm looking forward to writing it when it comes time!
To the guest who though Anna's answer about James' hair was perfect: why thank you! I could totally see James/Bucky throwing Anna's answer back in Steve's face at some point. It makes me smile at the thought of it. Yes, Steve is the only ally James has in his hunt to prevent Anna from going through with her plan, leading to some more bonding opportunities. Glad ya enjoyed the dream, and that ya fell for it. I wasn't sure if I wrote it sneakily enough. Hope you enjoyed the chapter!
To the guest who loved the chapter and the beginning of Steve's and Bucky's new relationship: Glad ya enjoyed it! And Anna's dream. Is it wrong for me to be happy you're growing more obsessed with this story as it continues on? Because I kind of am lol.
Rach
xoxo