"Ava, can I come closer? I promise I'm not here to hurt you." Bucky asked gently, wondering whether or not she would allow it. 

She hesitated, looking up at him with fear in her eyes, but something about him made her feel like he may just be telling the truth. She gave him a shaky not, to which he responded with a smile. When he came forward his movements were slow and cautious, trying his best not to scare her. She couldn't help but curl into herself a bit more, but other than that she did nothing to protest. 

He knelt in front of her, still not touching the child in case she thought it was an attack. He understood; after he escaped Hydra, even a pat on the back registered in his mind as a sign that pain was about to be inflicted upon him. People had learned the hard way, and for a while he wouldn't allow anyone but Steve near him for fear of hurting them.

He smiled once again at her, still unaware that she couldn't see it. "What happened to you?" He tried to ask again, wondering if she would answer this time and happy when she did, but his happiness quickly disappeared when he got his answer. 

Ava didn't know why she was talking to him at all, but something about Bucky felt safe. "The big kids, they... t-they...." She started shaking again, clearly traumatized, unable to finish her sentence, but Bucky understood plenty.

"They did this to you?" He confirmed gently, and Ava nodded. Bucky sighed, heart breaking further as he knew full well about the gangs of teens that terrorized the streets of New York. He didn't understand how anyone could purposefully hurt a kid. It was just wrong. 

He opened his mouth to ask if she had any parents, but closed it again as his answer was curled up in a beaten, bloodied, shaking, starving, terrified ball in front of him. As badly as she'd just been hurt, her appearance was not the result of a short period of time out here. Bucky thought for a moment, looking up at her with pity in his eyes before deciding to ask what he wanted to.

"Ava... I know you must be afraid of me, and I understand, I really do, but can you let me help you?" Ava tensed up at his words, but he kept going. "I can get you some food and water, and I could help you with your injuries...I can make you feel better, is what I'm trying to say. You could warm up, get someplace safe. Does that sound okay?" He asked, voice full of sincerity. He desperately wanted to help her, and he didn't even fully know why. 

She didn't answer right away, trying to figure out what to do next. Should she say yes? This could all be a trick, and she knew that, but what other options did she have? He waited patiently while she thought about it, and he hated seeing the fear in her eyes. No one her age should have to be this afraid. She looked back up at him, trying to make her decision, and Bucky tried to coax her along a bit. "Please, let me help you. I can't just leave you here, sweetheart..." He said softly, watching her hopefully. 

Her eyes still gave away her fear, as did her trembling, but the promising hope of food and heat was too important and rare to pass up. She gave him a small, nervous nod, and he smiled comforting down at her. "Love, can you stand up?" He asked, unsure due to the state she was in. She looked down in embarrassment, shaking her head. She had already attempted to do so, and it hadn't ended very well for her.

That was what he was expecting, in all honesty. The girl didn't look like she could lift a fork, let alone stand. "It's alright, you don't have to. Could I lift you up?" He asked. He didn't want to touch her without permission, or do anything  without her permission, really. So he was going to give her the choice in the matter. He knew it had helped him a lot, being given choices, getting to make his own decisions, so that's what he was going to do. Maybe that way she'd be a little less worried about doing anything to harm her, because she would know what he was about to do anything.

Ava wasn't too keen on the idea, but since she couldn't walk she nodded once again. She tensed up when he leaned forward, but he moved slowly as he gently and carefully lifted her up bridal style.  His metal arm supported her back and shoulders with his right arm under her knees, but when he actually stood up and lifted her she cried out in pain. Without meaning to, he'd put pressure on the wrong part of her leg. 

Bucky froze, not wanting to hurt her, but when he noticed the swelling on her right leg that he hadn't before he ever so carefully moved his hand to a less painful spot. "Sorry Kiddo..." He apologized quietly, feeling bad for hurting her. "Better?" She nodded, and when she did he slowly began walking back. 

As he walked, Ava slowly tried to relax, and because of how tired she was she ended up resting her small head against his chest. He glanced down and smiled when he felt the extra pressure, before looking back up at where he was going. Thankfully he hadn't gotten too far, and it only took them around fifteen minutes to arrive back at the tower. 

Ava was still awake, too nervous and afraid to fall asleep, and when they arrived she opened her eyes again. She couldn't help but shrink back into him a bit as the doors slid open, and most of the SHEILD Agents turned their gaze to them.

She hid her face as best as she could in his front, and Bucky met each and every set of eyes that were staring with his death glare. Suddenly, anything but  the two of them suddenly became very interesting. Once they made it to the thankfully empty elevator, he rubbed her shoulder reassuringly. She had finally stopped her shaking, though her eyes remained wide and wild.

She noticed that the arm around her back felt hard, stiff, but he had a glove on his hand and a jacket covering his arm so she had no idea it was metal. 

Ava looked up at him and met his eyes, getting her first proper look at his face. He had a bit of stubble and long brown hair that just barely passed his shoulders. His eyes were an electric shade of blue, but they looked as if they had lost their spark. He smiled kindly at her, and he bit the inside of his lip as he wondered how long it would take for the little girl to trust him. 

The elevator doors dinged open to reveal his floor, and he carefully set her down on the couch so she could lie down. Her large green-gray eyes took in the room she was currently in, before returning them to Bucky as he spoke. 

"I'm going to call a friend of mine and run you a bath, okay? She's going to help you too." He assured her, though he watched carefully in case she panicked again. Her fear grew, but she nodded in agreement.

Here you go! Look at me, posting two chapters in the same month! Who am I, and what have I done with the real author? You'll never know. NEVER! XD
I hope you guys enjoy the longer chapter, I'm certainly having fun writing it!