Written in the Stars: Bucky Barnes

12. Howling Commandos

Stella woke up early the next morning and turned to look at Bucky she smiled softly and untangled herself from his arms, she and Howard had some work to do today. She got dressed and kissed a sleeping Bucky goodbye before heading to the lab.

She entered the lab joining Howard as he ran over the plans for Steve's shield. They were soon joined by an annoyed Peggy Carter yelling at Steve for some reason Stella simply rolled her eyes and focused on her work. Howard was giving Steve hell about women when they moved to the table showing a few prototypes they had come up with. Stella was still partial to the vibranium shield and it seemed to have caught Steve's eye as well.

"What's it made out of?" Steve questioned.

"Vibranium. Stronger than steel a third of the weight." Howard replied.

Steve slid the shield onto his arm and looked to his friend asking silently what she thought.

"It's completely vibration absorbent. Should make a bullet feel like a cotton ball," she chimed in.

"How come it's not standard issue?"

"It's the rarest metal on earth. You're holding all we got."

Peggy entered the room behind them still in a sour mood Stella made note to question Steve about that later. "Are you about finished Mr. Stark, Stella? I'm sure the Captain has some unfinished business," she said raising her brow.

Steve raised the shield at Peggy, "What do you think?"

Peggy looked at the table picking up one of the guns and pointing it at Steve. Stella's heart rate quickened and she felt panic rise in her chest. Peggy shot three rounds and Steve blocked them with the shield them making contact and falling straight to the floor with no harm done. Stella's panic still was present, but her anger and disbelief were taking over.

"Looks like it works," Peggy said before starting to turn to walk away.

"You're joking right," Stella questioned her voice raising as she moved to get closer to the brunette. "What if it hadn't worked? What if it had ricocheted and hit Howard or me? You were willing to take that risk because Steve somehow pissed you off?" Steve grabbed Stella's wrist and she yanked it away with ease. "You've been grating my nerves since the first day I met you agent. Get over yourself before you get someone killed or accidentally kill them yourself. Acting like agent badass isn't going to make you any friends. I suggest you stay away from me for a while as you've just earned a number one position on my shit list." Stella said before pushing past Peggy and walking into the hall leaving a stunned Howard, Steve, and Peggy Carter behind her. She made her way back to the room she shared with Bucky unsurprised when he wasn't there. She let out a huff and made her way back to the lab hoping Peggy was gone.

She found Howard there alone figuring Steve left to work on battle plans. "Sorry Howard, she'd been pissing me off and I just snapped."

"It's okay Ella," Howard replied using the nickname he had given her. "But we should talk about how easily you were able to get out of Steve's grip."

"You know I hate it when you call me that."

"Then why do you always laugh"

Stella glared at him for a moment before her face broke into a smile. Howard passed her a piece of paper and she immediately recognized Steve's art style. "We going to make it happen?"

"Better than anything I could've come up with."

"On that, we agree," Stella said causing Howard to throw a pencil at her head and laugh.

The next few months were filled with several different missions to break down Hydra, base after base was destroyed and the Howling Commandos were becoming war heroes. Stella spent her time in the lab or tending to injuries when they returned. She was constantly somewhere between worried, and incredibly proud. When they came back she and Bucky would always spend time together, more in love than they ever had been before. He would recount their stories to her and she'd always listen and tell him how proud she was of him. The pair would fall asleep holding each other glad they had found their way back to one another.