New Old Love『BuckyxOC』

[One]

{Fall, 2023}

"I've been a captain before, obviously, but this is different. This is... everybody in the world expects me to be something. And I don't wanna fail them."

~Deanna's POV~

Groaning, I lay my head back. This new Captain America will be a pain in the ass, I just know it. At least they told me what they needed my studies for. Or why I was studying John Walker and why they wanted me to re-new the uniform. Luckily, my phone rings before I can draw my attention back to the letter in my hand. I answer it and turn down the volume from the TV. Wouldn't be nice to let anyone know what I'm watching. The less information anyone gets about me, the better.

"Roadkill Café, you kill it, we grill it. How can I help you?" I answer in a serious tone.

"Nice to hear you're doing well, Dee." Joaquin chuckles on the other side of the line. "I need your help. Could you make it to Switzerland?"

Letting out a deep sigh, I turn the TV off and go into my room, looking into Morgan's room on my way. "Figured. Why Switzerland?" Morgan sticks out her tongue before she returns to her book.

"There's this group, the Flag Smashers. I tracked their online chatter." He clears his throat.

"And you need a baddie on your side to approach the problem?"

"Something like that. Baddie?"

"Do I need to take the next flight, or would tomorrow morning be enough?" I take my bag out of the closet and start packing.

"The next one you get would be perfect. Thanks, Dee. I owe you."

"Keeping a list," hanging up, I throw the phone on my bed and mumble to myself. "What the heck are you doing, Joaquin?"

Throwing everything important together, I change into my favourite skinny jeans and a loose band t-shirt I found in a vintage store. Putting my hair into a ponytail and placing my accessories in the bag, I'm ready to leave. The only thing I need left, is money. Luckily, I got enough of that lying around; thanks to the slight paranoia, my boss pays me cash.

The door moves and Morgan sticks her head in, observing the situation. "Are you leaving, Dee?"

I smile and pull her into my arms, lifting her up in the process. "A friend needs my help, Maguna."

"Do you like him?" Her brown eyes search for answers in mine. I taught her well.

"Of course I do, I wouldn't leave you two if he wasn't important to me. Why do you ask?" Gently, I place her on my bed before I close the bag.

"Important like mummy was to daddy?"

I sigh again and trail my hand through her hair as I crouch down in front of her. "Your daddy loved your mom with all of his heart, and he loved you exactly the same or even more. So the answer is no, I don't love Joaquin. But he helped me through a difficult time, and now he needs my help. I won't let my friends down, Morgan." Kissing her forehead, I get up again. "Don't worry, you got your mom, you got uncle Rhodey, everything will be fine."

She slides from the bed and watches me throwing the bag over my shoulder before she takes my hand. "Promise me that you will come back?"

"Nothing better than that, little one. Now run and get your mom, okay?"

With a quick nod as answer, she runs off and leaves me alone in the room. After Tony's funeral, I decided to stay with Pepper and Morgan. Tony helped me, and my guts told me to repay that favour. Or maybe it was just to be close to him. Saying my farewells to Pepper and Morgan, Happy drives me to the airport and twelve hours later I walk through the airport in Switzerland. I officially hate flying in a public plane. All the humans around me, it's disgusting and definitely doesn't help my paranoia. Taking a deep breath outside the airport, I try to shake the worries away. I look at my phone, the location Joaquin sent me isn't too far away. Just when I turn around the corner, I spot a big guy leaning over Joaquin, beating him up. So that's what the fuss is about. Quickly, I take in the situation, then I secure the bag on my back and run over to help my friend.

"Hey!" I harshly grab the guy by his hair and pull him up.

Angrily, he turns around, his eyes piercing me through the mask. Raising an eyebrow, I stare right back, not even showing the slightest sign of fear. Why would I if I'm not afraid? A policeman interrupts us before the man can attack me, he runs away like a coward. I sigh and help Joaquin up from the ground.

"Did you try to kill yourself? Next time, just come to me."

He smirks and pulls me into a hug. "Good to see you too, Dee. You're late."

"The flight was over nine hours long, Quin. Of course, I'm late," rolling my eyes, I return the hug.

After filling out some forms for our bosses, Joaquin calls Sam to tell him about tonight. Sitting on the bed, leaning against the wall, I watch TV in Quins hotel room while he's on the phone. I'm probably in the background, but since it's Sam, I don't really care.

"So, this is the leader of the Flag Smashers, huh?" I can hear Sam through the phone.

"Yeah, real nice guy." I snort at Quin's answer.

"I thought you were supposed to be monitoring them online."

"I was. I did. But you know sometimes you gotta get your hands dirty, or a broken orbital."

Sam scoffs. "You're lucky that's all you got."

Now I get up and put my arm over Quin's shoulder, resting my head on his other one. "He's strong, Birdie."

"He was. I mean, bro, they went dark as soon as it was all over." Torres nods. "But that's their M.O. We gotta keep our eyes and ears to the ground till they pop up again."

Sighing, Sam leans back. "Anything else happen outside the video?"

"No, man. My face was in the dirt before I knew what was happening. Why?"

With furrowed eyebrows, I back Quin up. "What are you thinking, Sam?"

His eyes dart through the air for a split second. "Nothin'."

"Wait. You don't think he could be a...?"

Super soldier, I end his question in my mind.

Sam ignores the question. "Look, I'll circle back to you. Let's keep this between me and you two, okay?"

Quin nods. "All right."

Clenching my jaw, I turn away from the phone. "It might be one, you know?"

"I know that tone." He shoves his phone into his pocket. "What did you hear?"

"Rumours, Quin. Just rumours." I sigh. "Anyway, I have to be back in the states. Made a promise."

"Speaking of, Baddie?" He sits down on the chair in front of the desk and looks at me.

"I, uh," clearing my throat, I sit down on the bed. "I didn't want Morgan to hear me saying a bad word."

"A bad word? Wow, she really has an effect on you." Quin laughs. "That's good. She makes you less intimidating."

I throw a pillow at him. "Is that why you flinched when I put my arm around you, Torres?"