The person within

Chapter 16

3rd person POV:

Life had been amazing since Lea and Bucky had talked that night. It felt like a massive weight had been lifted off their shoulders, and a sigh of relief had enveloped the pair in a warm embrace. Lea was especially happy. To have finally told the truth about her past, and even better, to have someone who had gone through a similar experience and was able to relate to her. She was over the moon that she and Bucky had managed to finally connect and get over their past conflicts. And most of all, they said 'I love you'. Both having come from traumatic backgrounds which had broken their trust, this was a major step for the pair of them. With their newfound comfort, the duo began hanging out more often, making every excuse possible to spend time with each other.

Lea woke with the sun. After so many years of being held in captivity where the sun lacked its usual glimmer, the girl became accustomed to the daily rays of sunlight that lit up her room, which she welcomed gladly. Checking the time and seeing it was only 6:30 am on a Sunday, Lea decided to get up and make breakfast for herself. The wafting smell of bacon enveloped the hallways with the heavenly aromas of the sweet meal, creating several newcomers to the kitchen to check it out.

A groggy-looking Wanda trudged in, followed by Nat, who was rubbing her eyes and yawning. Their united displeasure at the early wakeup amused Lea, who smiled to herself before going back to check on the food. "Bit early for a cookout, isn't it?" Wanda grumbled, but Lea just shook her head.

"No time better than now", she replied. The red-haired duo took a seat on the island bench which made up one of the many kitchens there in the facility. They chatted briefly while Lea added some more bacon to the pan to feed the inevitable crowd that her food was sure to attract. 

After she has finished cooking, Lea sat down with the girls to eat. They gossiped about the newest movies and kept each other up to date with all the latest usual things, filling their spare time with laughter and smiles. It was the first time in a long while that Lea felt truly happy and content with her situation, finally feeling that she had a place to call home. As they sat and ate, talked and laughed, she embraced the feeling of inclusivity that she had found since her time staying with the avengers, and more importantly, the relationships she had made. Her mind wandered to Bucky; his god-like statue, but more importantly, his amazing character. 

Although admittedly the pair did get off to a rough start, their relationship had flourished and bloomed like a wild rose. Every time she looked into the opal-blue eyes which enchanted her dreams and swept her off of her feet, Lea thought about how much pain and hurt haunted his past and the things he endured during the reign of his captors, HYDRA. But despite that, he remained strong, both physically and mentally, for his benefit and for those around him. That is what inspired Lea about him: his fierce determination and passion towards everything he did, all in attempts to mend his past. 

Just then Lea snapped out of her trance to a set of fingers clicking in her face, making her blink. "Helloooo? Earth to lea?" Nat questioned comically. "You have some guests and they say they are hungry customers who have come to judge your exquisite cuisine. Or so they say." Lea looked up to see the combined America trio of Steve, Sam, and Bucky. The latter had that same mischievous twinkle in his eye as the three men stared hungrily at the bacon and eggs piled onto a serving dish on the bench.

"Well go ahead, boys. But I have to warn you, I make a mean B&E roll." With that the group dug in, just 6 superheroes eating brekkie at 8 am on a Sunday. The weirdness of it all still hadn't settled with the newcomer.

"So, how was the fun?" Wanda began.

"It went quite well-" Steve started, but Sam cut him off. "Don't lie to them, Spangles. It was awful. We ran for a solid 50 km, minimum! (about 31 miles for our imperial measurement system friends) "Do you know how hard it is to keep up with super soldiers for 50 kilometers?!" The group laughed at Sam's disgruntled behavior, but then Lea spoke up. 

"I don't suppose there are any beaches around here, is there?" she pondered out loud. Wanda chimed in. 

"I mean it depends on what sort you are looking for."

"Waves would be nice"

"For..." Wanda trailed off, unsure where her friend was leading with her question.

"Surfing of course. Haven't you surfed before?" Lea's green eyes scanned the room, before settling unremarkably on Steve. "You mean to tell me, that not a single one of you has ever surfed before?" Several pairs of eyes fell to the floor, and even Steve dropped his gaze. Lea was gobsmacked. And dumbfounded at the same time. 

"We are going to fix that."

Author's note: WOW it has been a while since I've updated this and I just wanted to apologize for that. I thought this book could use some light-hearted chapters to counteract some of the stuff past, present, and beyond. Although this one is a shorter one, I will be posting a few more chapters in the coming weeks to make up for my lack of updates. I just wanted to say thank you for all the views. This book is nearly at 500 and although it may not seem like much, this is my first ever book on here and I am so grateful to each and every one of you. It is so rewarding seeing you guys interact with me and this ff, as it feels like I am writing a part of myself into Lea and her character. I've thrown in some of my own slang just for fun, so please tell me if it feels too unfamiliar or if you don't know what something is. Keep commenting, keep upvoting, get excited for some Christmas content with out fav duo, and remember that my inbox is always open for anyone who wants to chat <3