Author's Note: This was written for a two-fold purpose. Firstly because Marvel's What-If series finally dropped on Disney Plus and secondly, I had a pretty rough couple of days so it had to come out somehow. It was pretty therapeutic. So yay. First side-story and first what-if scenario under my belt. Here's hoping more will come.
What-If: the roles in Side-Story I were reversed?
Bucky exited the house and looked around. He took a deep breath and let it out. He hadn't felt this relaxed in years. The breeze felt great. He picked up the sound of someone grunting and the sound of what sounded like a fist hitting wood. The thought he hadn't seen Phoenix, his chimera friend, in a few hours barely crossed his mind when he heard a scream. "Nix!?" he called, jumping off the porch and racing for the woods she haunted to stay out of sight. He came on a surprising scene. Phoenix was in her false form, clutching her head. The trees around her were cratered, indicating she had been punching them hard. "Nix?" Bucky called, holding his hands out. She turned towards his voice and her eyes were glowing violet. "What's going on?" the man asked, slowly closing the gap.
The shifter was heaving and the glow was practically bleeding from her eyes. While she had turned in response to his voice, it didn't seem like she could actually see him. Or she was seeing something else. Bucky continued to cautiously approach, unsure if this was a dangerous situation or not. He wasn't sure how unpredictable his very wild, very inhuman friend could be. Well, that was answered very quickly. The moment his fingers brushed her arms, Bucky found himself getting hurled backward into a tree. He barely caught his breath when he saw Phoenix charging him. "Whoa!" he yelled before ducking. The tree cratered where his head had been. Bucky rolled out from his position between her and the tree. He wasn't able to get a word out before she charged him again. He caught the fist aimed at his chest with his vibranium hand and started pushing against her. Phoenix was strong. Even in her human form, her strength was still on par with a horse's.
"Nix! You need to come back!" he grunted as she aimed her opposite fist at him, necessitating him catching it as well. The light from her eyes only intensified and she upped the output of her strength. Bucky groaned from the effort of staving her off. So far, she hadn't said a word. Her expressions, however, were an open book. There was a mix of fear, anger, and sorrow fighting for supremacy. The White Wolf took a breath before suddenly spinning out of the lock. Phoenix flew forward from the loss of an opposing force. She barely missed faceplanting into a tree and she turned on him. Bucky heaved from the effort he expended holding her off. "Nix...you need to snap out of it. I don't want to hurt you," he said in a soft tone. "You already have. You used my mother...you stole me...experimented on me. I thought you dead to Lord Nimbus's jaws but I guess a blind Leviathan can only do so much. So, I'm going to kill you. I'm going to avenge my mother. You had no right to do what you did to her, Queen or not…," she responded.
Bucky realized she wasn't even seeing him but her creator. "Nix...it's me. It's Bucky. Whatever you're seeing, it's not real," he said, trying to get through to her. She responded with a yell and charged. The White Wolf sidestepped her and grabbed her wrist. He had to do something until she snapped out of whatever madness had her. Phoenix reacted to his hold by swinging at him but Bucky used her own momentum to plant her on the ground. "Please don't make me hurt you," he grunted as she slipped several times trying to get to her feet. Bucky didn't give her the chance before he kicked her legs out from under her. He knew she could handle it. He was running out of options and he was going to run out of steam before she did. This had to end now. He dragged Phoenix to her feet, doing what he could to keep her off-balance.
They both ended up falling to the ground. The shifter gasped as all the air was knocked out of her when Bucky landed on her. Her frenzy got even more chaotic. Bucky pinned her down and out of desperation, pushed his lips to hers. She stopped fighting instantly but she weakly kicked out as the sensation started cutting through her madness. Bucky kept his eyes closed, instinctively taking the kiss deeper. He let her wrists go and brought up one hand to cup her face while the other shifted to carry some of his weight. Her hands gripped his arms as if they were the only things keeping her grounded. The light in her eyes eventually ceased.
Bucky broke the kiss when he felt her body deflate. Her eyes slowly opened and met his. "Bucky?" she whispered. Grinning, he brushed some hair aside. "Damn, Nix. You scared me there," he said. Phoenix took stock of herself and noted with dull interest that she was on the ground. Bucky was on top of her, her knees parted to accommodate his body. "What happened?" she asked, a bit groggy still. "I'm not sure. It was like you were reliving bad experiences involving your creator," he responded. Sighing, he came to rest completely on her. Phoenix looked up at the sky over his shoulder. "Did I hurt anyone?" she asked. "You just cratered a lot of trees...and sent me flying into one," Bucky replied.
"Oh, Weaver! Are you okay?" she asked, her hands coming to rest on his sides. "I'm fine, Nix. Just worn out. You're incredibly strong and it took a lot out of me to hold you off," he said, tiredly. Phoenix blinked a couple of times. "How did you bring me out of it?" she asked. She had a vague, lingering sensation on her lips and needed her suspicion confirmed. Bucky sighed but he remained motionless. "I, uh...I kissed you. Looking back...I shouldn't have done that. I was completely out of line but I was desperate and you were turning into a danger to yourself and others. So I went with the first idea that popped into my head," he responded. There was a faint crack in his voice Phoenix picked up on and mulled over his response. Only a human would think he had been way out of line doing what he did. Phoenix was pair-bonded to someone but while it was often compared to human marriage, it was a bit more nuanced. At the end of the day, she was an animal. Human social conventions didn't apply to her.
"Thank you," she whispered. Her fingers closed on his shirt and her vision started to blur. It was starting to come back to her now. Bucky felt the shift in her emotional state and brought his head up to look down at her. She was looking off to the side, biting her lower lip, and failing to keep her emotions in check. He found himself struck dumb for a moment. He always thought she was beautiful but now, he couldn't describe it. "Hey, you're okay, sweetheart. No one got hurt. Not even me. You're going to be fine," he said soothingly, running a thumb under her eye. She met his eyes, searching them for any deception. "I could've killed you, Bucky," she said, her hands coming up to brush his face. "But you didn't. I don't die that easily," he assured her. Phoenix's hands dropped to her throat as if she were starting to choke. The White Wolf sensed an oncoming panic attack and moved quickly to ground her.
The shifter felt Bucky's weight leave her and found herself being scooped up. Bucky held her tightly in his arms. "Breathe, Nix. And cry. You'll feel better if you do," he said. That was all it took. The simple fact she felt allowed to be vulnerable after a century and a half of needing to maintain a look of strength in order to stay alive. Humans and predators were merciless, the Wilds even more so. Being compromised in any way made the already thin line between life and death even thinner. But being there in Bucky's arms made the humanshifted chimera feel completely safe. Phoenix broke down, shifting until she straddled Bucky's lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. The old soldier returned the favor by holding her close and tight. He leaned against a tree, muttering encouragement in low tones, as his flesh hand ran up and down her back.
Phoenix's eyes darted around at their surroundings. Her hands had closed on his shirt as if it were a lifeline. His hold was tight but it was a grounding tightness. She felt very protected and secure. She hadn't felt like this in a long time. She eventually cried out everything and she had to admit Bucky was right. It felt like a huge weight had been lifted. She pulled back to clear her eyes, her friend brushing her hair back before lightly taking her elbows. "Feel better?" he asked. "Much...but I think I ran out of energy. I can't seem to stand," she said in a quiet voice. "You must've been bottling up a lot if it got that bad," Bucky responded. She just shook her head, knowing he wasn't entirely wrong. "Humans have their reasons for hiding things. But animals like me...it's a necessity. If we feel weak or vulnerable in the wrong place, it could mean death," she said. "Yeah, I get that. Survival is a basic instinct for everyone. Hell, I've had to hide a lot myself. Especially during my years as a fugitive," he mused.
Bucky watched Phoenix take his vibranium hand in both of hers, her fingers running over the smooth metal. It never failed to impress her with the workmanship that allowed such a sophisticated prosthesis. She told him that the High King of the West, Byakko, had a side hustle in weapons forging and prosthesis to go along with his royal duties. He wondered how his workmanship stacked against Wakanda. The night was getting darker but at least it was still warm. Bucky was hit with an idea. Phoenix had just come out of a mental break and was still destabilized from the whole affair. The White Wolf didn't feel right leaving her on her own when she hadn't recovered completely. "Hey, I'm going to go get something from the house. Mind waiting for me right here?" he asked. She looked at him curiously before nodding silently. Bucky helped her shift off his lap and he got to his feet. The shifter just leaned against the tree, clearly drained.
Bucky entered the house and ran into Sam in the kitchen. "Everything okay out there? I thought I heard fighting," he said. "Phoenix had, I guess, a mental breakdown. I was able to bring her out of it," Bucky responded. "Damn. Anyone hurt?" Sam whistled. The White Wolf didn't respond at first before he took a deep breath. "I need a favor, Sam. Do you have a blanket I can take out there? Nix is completely drained from the ordeal and I don't feel right just leaving her on her own," he explained. "Say no more," Sam said before popping over to a closet and bringing out two old but large blankets. He tossed them at Bucky who caught them and thanked him. He left the house and went back out.
Phoenix was still leaning against the tree but she seemed calmer now. She came back to life a little when she noticed him approaching. "What's this about?" she asked as Bucky opened up and laid out the blanket. "I'm sleeping out tonight. I don't feel right leaving you by yourself after that mess and I don't think you being in the house would be comfortable for you," he explained, sitting down on it before crawling over to help her. "You don't have to, Bucky. I'll be fine," she protested. It was met by a lopsided grin and a slight eye-roll. "Nix, you've done a lot for me over the years. Let me take care of you for once. I want to be there for you the way you've been there for me in the past. It's not a problem," he assured her.
Phoenix didn't get another word in before he laid her out on the blanket and mirrored her. She turned her head to look at him while he looked up at the stars. Taking a deep breath, she looked up at the stars as well. Her thoughts were on the kiss and her face warmed a bit. She hadn't really reciprocated it (not that she could at the time) but if she were honest, it hadn't been unpleasant. Bucky was still a bit ashamed he resorted to that measure but he was thinking like a human. She was picking up on the nuances of human social conventions the longer she was around them. She understood why they were a huge deal, even if it didn't make much sense to her. Phoenix could only hope he didn't get too hung up on the idea that he kissed another man's girl. One was a dragon and the other was a chimera. Their humanity was only as strong as it needed to be for diplomacy with the Empire but that was it. She decided to let the matter lie and not bring it up in the future, if only for his own peace of mind.
"Hey, Bucky?" came her voice. "Yeah, Nix?" he responded. "Thank you for helping me. I don't know what I'd do without you," Phoenix said, her gratitude evident. "Anytime. I would apologize for my methods but I know better. You'd never accept an apology because we both think very differently," Bucky sighed. Phoenix grinned as she turned her head towards him. He met her gaze and returned it a bit. "Good for you. You're learning. But if I may, it wasn't unpleasant, even if I wasn't fully aware of it at the time," she jabbed playfully. The White Wolf just laughed before silence fell and they went back to looking at the stars.
Phoenix felt the last of her energy start to drain away. "The stars are so beautiful out here. The cities always made me sad because so few can be seen there," she trailed off. Her eyes slid shut and she was out like a light. Bucky looked over to see she had fallen asleep. Her hands were folded just under her bust and her entire body was relaxed. Shifting onto his side and leaning his head on his hand, the old soldier brushed some flyaway hairs from her face before he took the other blanket and draped it over them both. Phoenix ran hotter than humans did so if anything, he was banking on that to keep himself warm. It would also help keep the morning dew off when the dawn broke later. Shifting a bit closer, Bucky laid on his side and eventually fell asleep.