⊱ ━━━━.⋅ εïз ⋅.━━━━ ⊰

❝ i was born with it, stark ❞

⊱ ━━━━.⋅ εïз ⋅.━━━━ ⊰

THE RED numbers on the screen showed the time, 01:33.

Nova was given a room in the compound, and for the past few hours she had been tossing and turning on the bed as she tried to fall asleep. Clearly nothing was helping her case.

Her stomach grumbled, and she thought about how she hadn't eaten all day. With a small sigh, she tossed the covers off her body before walking towards the kitchen. The Avengers compound was dark, the only source of light being the dim ones in a few spots of the ceiling.

The brunette headed into the kitchen and searched for anything she could snack on while trying to be as quiet as possible. She found a packet of oreos, settling for it as she pulled out a high chair from under the counter and sat down.

As she ate the oreos silently, her mind wandered off to how she could possibly change things. She thought about the fact that the people who dusted were different, did that mean her family was still okay? Are her parents and brother still safe and in one piece in Ivazar? She could call, but then again the communication satellite hadn't been made yet this year.

The lights flickered on and her head snapped towards the entrance of the kitchen, instantly alarmed.

"Woah, calm down battery. It's just me," Tony held his hands up. "You can, turn off your... lights...?" he said, unsure as he gestured to his eyes.

Nova looked down, blinking a few times and shaking her head as she realised she was probably emitting a purple aura along with an invisible electrical shield. It happens whenever she sensed an unknown presence, something she'd do unconsciously these days.

"Sorry, it was... a reflex," she muttered, picking at the packaging of the oreo pack. "I'm just here for oreos," she waved a cookie out before taking a bite.

"Who are you? I don't think I've seen you around here," Tony asked as he eyed her. She exhaled inwardly and told her what the others saw that morning, but only a brief summary. Turns out he came to the compound for a quick visit, and was leaving again in the morning.

"Can't sleep?" the man asked as he moved around the kitchen to get himself a glass of water. She chuckled, only shaking her head in response as he nodded understandingly.

"There any chance you can tell me what Strange wanted to change?" he asked, taking a sip of his water.

Nova looked up at him, meeting his eyes as she felt a slight wave of sadness wash over her. She had never met the man, but all those stories she's heard about the Iron Man made her look up to him. Now here she was, sat in the kitchen with the man who in the future of another timeline had sacrificed his life for the universe.

"Can't say," she said, putting on a smile. "But, what happened in the other timeline, won't happen again."

"Why's that?"

"Cause now you got me," she shrugged.

Tony stared at her. The queen had a determined look in her eyes, one he recognized as the kind basically every hero he knew would have when they're on a mission. The determination to make sure things go right and lives are saved.

"You know, you're something, kid," Tony pointed at her as he leaned his hands on the countertop.

Nova raised an eyebrow, chuckling softly. "I'm older than you, Stark."

His eyebrows shot up, "oh God. You're one of them aren't you? Did you turn into a capsicle too?"

The girl snorted at his assumption, until he started coming up with more. "Did they freeze you on purpose or did you crash a plane into ice? How long were you frozen? Seven decades?"

"No," she shook her head, a smile lighting up her face. "It was a different procedure," she humored him.

"Well are you gonna tell me or are you gonna keep me waiting?" he questioned.

"It's something called 'genetics'. I was born with it, Stark. Stopped aging after a certain age which varies for each person, as for me I stopped decades ago," she explained.

Tony's mouth fell agape slightly as he digested the information. "Well— I've learned to not be surprised these days after everything I've seen," he chuckled and Nova did as well.

"You have a kid right?" she asked after a moment of silence once she put away the oreos.

"A daughter. Morgan," he said with a soft smile on his face. "Left my family to come here, save the world as always."

"I—" she started, looking down with pursed lips as she picked at her nails. "I have a family. In the other timeline, my parents and brother dusted. My brother came back, my parents didn't. And now I just... I wonder if they're okay in this timeline," she said solemnly.

"Is there a way you could reach out?" he asked, leaning an elbow onto the counter as he stood sideways and kept his gaze on her. She shrugged, a sad smile on her features. "It's fine, I'll figure it out," she said.

"It's late, we should get some rest," she said after looking at the clock. The man nodded, shooting a comforting smile much like the one she used to see on her father's face.

"You know, if you want, I could totally make you a suit or something," Tony said as they walked down the corridor. "How're your powers like? Give me the details in the morning and I can just have em done."

Nova laughed softly, her hands interlocked in front of her. "I already have one, you know."

"I know, I figured but it won't hurt to have a Stark invention as well," he shrugged.

With a sigh, she gave in and nodded. "Of course. I wouldn't want to break your little old man heart," she joked and he faked laughed.

"Very funny, Nova, very funny. I'm gonna get some sleep before I create your masterpiece tomorrow," he excused himself and with a smile, Nova waved at him before they parted ways.

As she walked down the hall to her room, she heard muffled screamings before it suddenly stopped. She stopped in her tracks, turning to the door on her left. Seeing as she was there and heard it, she decided to raise a balled fist and knocked on the door.

One thing about her was that she cared. It didn't matter if she didn't know the person that well, but here in this building everyone was technically a friend.

She heard faint footsteps before the doorknob twisted and was pulled back. Taking a peek, she met a familiar pair of steel blue eyes. He looked disturbed, and it was clear to her that he had just had a nightmare.

"What are you doing up?" he asked, his voice hoarse from the screams and the fact he had just woken up in the middle of the night.

"I went for a quick snack," she said, pointing her thumb to the direction of the kitchen. "You okay?" her eyes held a gentle expression and it gave Bucky a sense of peace.

He stepped away from the door, beckoning her into his room. She stepped inside and he closed the door before going back to sit on his bed. He gestured to the spot next to him and she climbed onto the bed, sitting cross legged with her back leaning onto the bed frame.

"In the future," he voiced out, "how was I?"

"Well, you were you," she shrugged. "The gentleman you are. And, you were happy. Free. It took you a minute but then it was worth it."

Bucky tried to imagine more of it in his head, thinking more of how he used to be a carefree and happy guy. The kind whose smile reached his eye, whose laugh rang through the whole room, who was sincerely happy with himself.

"You wanna know something that you loved to see? I just recently started showing it to you and you'd always asked me to do it," she looked over her shoulder at him and they locked eyes again, the man sending her a nod.

She raised her hand, letting a purple glow dance on her hands before it formed a small orb that brightened and dimmed to a rhythm. Bucky leaned forward, watching the glow intently. "It's my heartbeat," she explained. "You always said it made you feel good to see my steady heartbeat, that—"

"It feels calming," he continued quietly, a small smile adorning his features. "Yeah, that's exactly what you said," she smiled.

She shifted her body, now sitting facing him as he leaned back and she held her hand slightly closer towards him.

The sight of her calm and steady heartbeat managed to scare away the nightmares that were still lingering in his mind. Just like he said, it was calming for him.

clearly i'm stalling

i have a one week break (add a crap ton of homework with it) so i'll try to prewrite this book finished that way i can just publish them without worrying whether or not i hv another chapter lol

hope u're liking it so far :)

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