Belonging - A Bucky Love Story (Marvel/Avengers)

19

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Brenna found her father in the main Avengers lab working with Bruce. Upon the sight of his daughter, he smiled brightly. "Brenna," he greeted while trying to get his hands out of what he was working on. Once freed, he met Brenna with a hug.

"Hi, Daddy," Brenna greeted with a grin of her own.

"So, how was the training?" Tony asked, letting his daughter go as Natasha entered next.

Brenna's grin widened. "It was, exhilarating," she explained.

Tony turned to Nat with a more force smile. "Well, I didn't know you were training her to lie, too," he said sarcastically, letting his face go deadpan.

"Tony, I didn't--" Natasha began, but was cut short by Tony.

"Didn't what?" He asked passive-aggressively, "didn't think I'd, just, turn on the news and see my daughter shooting lasers out of her hands?"

Natasha sighed, smirking a bit. Trying to lighten the mood, she teased, "honestly, I'm surprised you didn't call."

"Why would I call? You wouldn't have answered, would you?" Tony accused. He sighed deeply, rubbing his face with a hand as he began to pace slowly. "I knew from the start what you were up to," he admitted, "first the 'night-training', then the little road trip. I thought, what the hell? A little experience fighting some local criminals wouldn't hurt. But DC? HYDRA?!" His voice gradually raised into an angry shout, "and this, Winter Soldier psychopath?!"

Brenna frowned in guilt, shrinking back as her father yelled at Natasha. "Daddy, it wasn't her fault," she tried to defend her trainer.

Tony turned to his daughter and lowered his voice back to a reasonable volume. "Not now, Brenna," he told her strictly, "trust me, we'll talk plenty later on." He then gestured for her to leave the room. So Brenna sulked away to the living area a few rooms away.

Bruce, who'd been standing awkwardly at his work station, also decided it'd be best to leave. "I'll just..go keep an eye on her..then," he muttered, though neither Tony nor Nat acknowledged him.

Spotting Brenna curled up on a couch in the giant living room, Bruce sighed lightly and walked over to sit beside her. Her legs were hugged to her chest, face burried between her knees. "Don't be upset, Brenna," Bruce tried to comfort her, "he's just worried about you."

Lifting her face, Brenna met the doctor's eyes. He sat a reasonable two feet away from her, his lips pursed. They hadn't formally met yet, but she knew that Bruce helped in perfecting her arc reactor with the sun opal. She also knew what he was.

"Did you see the news, too?" Brenna asked in a quiet voice.

Bruce nodded. "I did," he told her, "that's some power you have."

For once, she wasn't sure if this was what she wanted to hear or not. "How much did you see?"

With a deep breath, Bruce thought for a moment, then listed, "well, I saw that shield move you used on the road, I saw the helicarrier's go down..and I'm guessing you were on one of them."

Brenna thought of the men she'd killed by accident, and then those she'd killed on purpose. "I was," she started, adverting her gaze to the floor, "and I..I did something, by accident...I didn't even know I could do it."

Bruce's gaze on her grew heavy with empathy; he knew all too well what she was going through. "..Accidents happen sometimes, Brenna," he breathed, voice saturated with sorrow, "it's something you just, learn to live with."

"But I can't just--" Brenna cut herself off with a frustrated groan.

Bruce frowned. He didn't want to crack her already fragile mental state, but she need to hear the truth. "But you have to," he spoke in a calm voice. Brenna looked over to him with eyes that seemed much older than she was. She'd been through something no young woman should ever have to go through. "You have to," Bruce repeated strongly, "'cause if you let it eat at you, soon there won't be any 'you' left."

The doctor's words were unexpectantly comforting to Brenna. She nodded at him in understanding. "Okay," she croaked with a small smile, "I'll try."

"Brenna?" Tony's voice called through the huge room. When he spotted her, she was just turning to his attention. He gave her a look of compassion. "Come on, Honey B," he spoke in a much calmer tone than earlier, "let's talk this out."

Bruce gave Brenna and encouraging half grin, then the woman was off to meet her father. When she approached him, Tony put an arm around her shoulders and began to walk.

"Natasha told me everything," Tony began with an exasperated sigh, "from your birthday all the way up to now."

"She really didn't do anything wrong, she was just trying to keep me safe," Brenna blurted out, "I'm the one who made the dumb, dangerous choices."

"I know," her father confirmed with an amused grin, "I did just say: she told me." His grin faded, though, as they continued to stroll to nowhere in particular. "Chasing after the Winter Soldier," he breathed, shaking his head, "Honey, what were you thinking?"

Brenna smiled weakly up at Tony and responded in a shy voice, "I wasn't thinking.....but I don't regret it."