Thunder Wolf [B.Barnes]

Chapter 27

Fern yawned at the dim sunlight beginning to dance into her room; she sat up, looking around the room with a sigh. It was weird to wake up somewhere that wasn't home, but she had an easier time sleeping last night than she expected to. Ryker rolled over at the end of the bed, his ear perking up when seeing her sitting up. "Morning boy, how did you sleep?" Fern smiled, scratching between Ryker's ears.

Fern slowly slipped out of bed, finding a gray sweatshirt resting on the floor next to the bed, happily pulling it on as she walked over to the open glass door leading out to the balcony. Fern noticed that the sweatshirt was far too big to be her own, and from the slight scent of leather and metal, she knew it was Buckys. Fern leaned against the railing of the balcony as Elder glided down to land next to her. "Morning Elder, did you have fun exploring the area last night?" She smiled as Elder screeched out in reply. "That's good. Remember, this isn't home, so you better not go getting into trouble. The animals around here don't know there's someone who can talk to them."

Fern stood there for a while longer, watching the sky change colors with the rising sun. Buzz soon fluttered out and flew out into the forest to find his morning meal and explore the area himself. Fern held her arm out to Elder and walked them back inside, knowing that there was indeed someone awake in the compound at the time. She knew that there was plenty to do today. First, she would meet Peter at his school, then Natasha and Wanda would sweep her off to look for dresses for tonight.

Elder flew off to his favorite corner of the room; it seemed to be the darkest at all times. Fern went to make her way to her bathroom when she noticed how oddly lumpy her couch was; she tilted her head in confusion before remembering what had happened last night. A small smile spread across her face as she slowly walked over to the couch. Bucky laid across the sofa, a blanket half-fallen onto the floor and his hair sticking to his face. Fern was surprised that he was asleep, and she knew he was by the way he was breathing.

It amazed Fern that Bucky jumped so quickly when he heard her make a strange noise last night. Fern sighed as images of her nightmare flashed in her mind; it wasn't like any other nightmare she'd had, and she worried that something was happening back home. Fern glanced at Bucky once again before leaving her room and finding her way down to Tony's lab, knowing that he'd be there.

"Morning, kiddo, how did you sleep?" Tony asked the second the door slid open to the lab.

"Okay," Fern glanced around the lab, amazed at all of the different holograms Tony had floating around. "Are those cameras at the house working yet?" She asked, knowing that the worry in her voice was unmistakable.

"They were up and running last night. Do you want to look?" Tony hit a button, showing Fern's house, and the surrounding area flashed up in front of her.

"I had a dream about something bad happening. I can't remember what happened, and I know it wasn't the Thunderbird because she would have said something to me." Fern sighed, scanning her eyes over the images. Everything looked normal; she caught a glimpse of the Thunderbird flying away from the mountain, most likely checking the area. Its movement didn't seem off to Fern, so she relaxed.

"If anything strange is caught on the cameras, we'll be notified instantly and on the quinjet as quickly as possible," Tony promised, resting a hand on Fern's shoulder, sending her a weak smile.

"Thank you, Tony," Fern hugged him. They pulled apart, sharing a smile before Fern left the lab to return to her room.

Upon returning, she found Bucky sitting up on the couch, running a hand through his hair. He turned to look at her as the door shut with a quiet click. "Morning, doll." Bucky yawned. Fern giggled at his tired state, and she sat down on the couch next to him.

"Morning, how did you sleep?" Fern asked, picking the blanket up from the floor and laying it across her lap.

"Alright," Bucky shrugged as he blinked his eyes, letting out another yawn. "Better than I have in a long time." He chuckled; he hadn't slept that well in years. Although, honestly, Bucky wasn't sure if he had ever slept so well.

"You look like it; the dark marks under your eyes aren't as bad as they have been. I think you've been sleeping fairly well lately." Fern noted as she brushed his hair from his eyes with a smile. "Yeah, I'd say you've been sleeping like a baby."

"I don't know if I've been sleeping that well, but I'll take your word for it," Bucky leaned his head back and stared at the ceiling for a minute. "What time are you meeting Peter at his school?" Bucky asked with another yawn.

"Around nine or so. He's supposed to let Tony know. Then I'll be back to drop off Elder and then off to look for a dress with Nat and Wanda," Fern informed him.

"I'm not going to have any time with you to myself," Bucky groaned.

"You'll have all night to spend with me, Bucky, plus you're meant to be looking at suits with Sam and Steve," Fern rolled her eyes at his childish whine.

"Crap and the Wakandan's are coming; Shuri's meant to be doing an update on my arm," Bucky grunted as he stood quickly.

"The who?" Fern asked, watching Bucky walk around and stretch.

"The Wakandan's are the ones who took the Hydra triggers out of my head and gave me this fancy new arm. I was supposed to be going there, but I told them that wasn't going to be possible," Bucky explained. "I have to get ready, they're going to be here soon, and Shuri gets annoyed if I'm late. I'll try to see you before you leave for Peter's school." Bucky walked back over to the couch and leaned over to press a quick kiss on Fern's cheek.

"Okay," Was all Fern was able to muster out before Bucky was out of the room, and she was left sitting on the couch. "He needs to stop doing that," Fern grumbled, wishing that sometimes Bucky would kiss her and get it over with. With the gentle flirting, then the very aggressive flirtation, and now back to the mild flirting, she wouldn't dare make a move to kiss him first. Fern knew Bucky still had all of the morals from the '40s, and she wasn't going to take those away from him. She still hardly knew a thing about flirting, let alone relationships, but Fern still wished that she and Bucky could stop dancing around each other.

They continued to share moments, Fern couldn't complain, and she still had only really known Bucky for a couple of short weeks, but she knew she was madly in love with the soldier. It was apparent that Bucky shared the feelings. Fern wondered if the pair just needed a little more of a push for something to happen.