The Scarlet Apprentice 2: The Multiverse Between Us

Struggling emotions

While the team shook off their panic and tension, they began clearing from the building. They'd all gotten down to the large industrial floor of the building and lingered there while they calmed down. Simmons, Fitz, and Monica all sat together on a stack of crates, occasionally talking each other to calmness while keeping quiet. Daisy stood up with Mack but, unlike him, she paced across an area on the floor, occasionally sending glances to y/n to make sure she was okay. Deke sat on the floor between Bucky and Sam, but none of them spoke a word.

After what felt like 10 minutes, Mack took in a deep breath and announced, "come on, guys. The search isn't over, lets head back. We'll rest up until we find the next signal."

Most of the team pushed themselves up and instantly walked back to the zephyr, but y/n didn't. And, of course, because she didn't, neither did Sam and bucky. Mack sent her a look while standing by the exit, waiting for everyone to leave.

"Come on, y/n. Fitzsimmons will start looking for the next signal, we'll have another shot soon." He assured her.

"Actually, you guys go ahead." She stood up straight and told them, "I'm gonna stay and look around for any traces, or see if I can feel anything."

"The signals gone, you're not gonna find anything."

"Just go." She weakly begged, looking at him from across the room, "please."

With moments of hesitation, Mack finally left the room. While bucky and Sam slowly made their way to the door, Sam looked back before stopping calmly.

"You go ahead, buck, I'm gonna stay with y/n. Make sure she's okay." He explained for beginning to turn.

However, before he could get any further away, bucky gently but impulsively grabbed his wrist to stop him, "Sam.' He waited for his attention, "let me do it. Please."

It didn't take him a moment of thinking before he nodded and gave permission. With a small smile, he began leaving, "I'll save you a seat."

"You better." He smiled back before turning to y/n.

The moment she heard his footsteps and saw him out the corner of her eye, she slumped herself to sit on a crate and held her knees up to her body. Without saying anything, Bucky pulled up a crate and calmly sat next to her.

"I don't want to talk, bucky." She shook her head.

"That's fine. I can sit in silence." He shrugged.

"Don't you wanna go sit with the team? They've got air conditioning, comfy seats, deke, food-." She began listing before she was cut off.

"Wait-" bucky paused, "I thought you hated deke."

"I do. He's someone to bully, that's what I mean." She explained.

"Oh, of course." He laughed softly, "as appealing as that sounds, I choose to stay out here."

She hummed, "how heroic of you."

"I'm not doing it to be heroic." He dismissed, "I find genuine pleasure in sitting on and old crate of wood in a government owned construction sight, I really love it." Instead of replying with a sarcastic comment, she chuckled softly - almost inaudibly - to herself, but bucky noticed. "I'm sorry for stopping you. But just seeing you being pulled closer and closer to that... I just-... I freaked out. I don't wanna see anymore people go. And you're a good person. A lot of people love you. I promise we're gonna get her out, but you have to understand that the team aren't ready to risk you."

She gulped, "and I'm sorry for getting angry at you. I know that you guys are trying to help, and I appreciate it so much, but I'm just-... I'm different. I can't control it, but I'm changing."

He furrowed his brows and watched her with complete focus, "what do you mean?"

"I'm not like this, bucky. I'm calculated, and motivated, and good at hiding my emotions, but I can't do it now. I don't know why, but I can't keep my emotions in. I keep getting angry, and sad, and I'm snapping at the people I love."

Instead of giving her the usual piece of advice that anyone could've told her, her really thought about what she was saying. "We'll you do have empathic powers, don't you?"

"What?" She lifted her head.

"That's what I've been told." He began, "you're a witch with empathic abilities, you can feel what other people are feeling, you can alter peoples emotions-"

"But I can't alter my own." She interrupted him.

"Exactly."

She squinted, "you've lost me."

"You don't know how to use your powers properly. Not your empathic ones, anyway. Y/n, you're facing the most stressful, scary, and painful thing I can imagine. All of that and you can't control your powers which amplify your emotions, no wonder you've gotten angry. Ill be honest, you've been doing incredibly well." He assured her.

"But I can't keep doing it for much longer."

"That's okay, that's fine." He smiled softly and comfortingly, "you don't have to. We're not gonna get mad if you can't stay perfectly calm during all of this, you know that."

"I know, I just... I feel bad having to drag you around with me, but I need to do this." She admitted.

"Honestly, y/n, I don't think anyone feels annoyed by it. We're helping you because we want to, not because we feel like we can't say no. Plus, its very cool watching you use your powers."

With the unexpected last line, she smiled to herself and looked at him, "yeah?"

"I wish I had powers like yours, maybe then I could really help." He sighed.

"You'll have to go through a shit tone of training if you did have powers like this." She huffed a laugh.

"Nah, I'm a professional at magic, I've read loads of stories on it." He faked bragging.

She laughed, "oh, shut up, that means nothing."

"We'll never know, will we?" He shrugged, pretending to look sad by it, "you'll have to take my word for it."

"No, I'll just use common sense and make a decision from that." She smiled sarcastically to him.

After shaking it off with a laugh, he rambled, "can you imagine how cool that would be though? A metal arm and the ability to move stuff with your mind. And it could really help now. I could hold the portal open, you could get Wanda out. Or you could get Wanda, I get Agatha. I'll have to wait for Agatha to drop her guard or something, but that's fine. Ill just trick her, you know? I've got it all planned out. I could even create a portal, that's probably a thing, right?"

During most of his ramble she phased out and stared at the floor while also listening to him, but something he said caused her to focus completely and sit up, "wait, what did you say?"

"Can witches create portals like that?" He repeated.

"No, no... before that?"

"We need to trick Agatha." He repeated again, allowing her to think about it for a moment.