Summary: Desperate to save her sister, even if that means breaking the laws, Emma Webster finds herself bonding with Bucky Barnes, who struggles to regain the memories stolen from him. Clint Barton struggles to cope, following a devastating betrayal, while Jessica Webster tries to hold herself together in the face of her looming death. Co-Written with WalkingPotterGirl14. Bucky/OC, Clint/OC, Wanda/OC, Steve/Darcy, Natasha/Matt Murdock, Tony/Pepper, and Sam/Sharon. Rated M.

So, this takes place after Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers 4, in this the Avengers were successful in defeating Thanos and the Black Order, but the story will be AU. Me and WalkingPotterGirl14 hope you enjoy the story.

A Tangled Web

Chapter 1

It had been a week since the attack on New York by Thanos, the Mad Titan. The city was slowly recovering. And one of the many people within who was still just trying to live her life, was Jessica Meyer Webster. She walked to the New York Symphony Orchestra. She was trying to keep up a brave face, despite everything that was going on in her life.

She had leukaemia at the age of just twenty-three, after being given the all clear. Everything was so…fucked up.

She was so tired, scared and angry at everything that was going on. Her sister was literally breaking her back to try and come up with a way for her to get better. According to the doctors and specialists, she was in the critical stage. All they could do was make her comfortable.

So, just like that, she was going to die. She swallowed as she saw the opera theatre up ahead. Playing her beloved piano always made her feel better. She stepped into the building, letting out a quiet sigh.

Jessica tied up her dark brown, almost black wavy hair into a messy bun, when she saw the director of the orchestra, Matthew Everhart quietly walk over to her. And from his face, she had a feeling it wasn't going to be good.

"Jessica, you shouldn't have come here...we replaced you after you kept on missing recitals," he said awkwardly, avoiding her hurt expression. Then she got angry.

"So you're firing me?" she asked flatly, hurt. Matthew nodded silently. She shoved past him and began emptying out her locker and left the building, ignoring Matthew who was calling her name.

'Fuck you, Matthew. And fuck Rachel Townsend, who you preferred over me…you asshole,' she thought bitterly, hurt that she'd literally been stabbed in the back by one of her supposed friends.

She had no steady job now. She had rent to pay, not to mention medical bills and utility bills that she had on her as well. She tried to think of a way to get money, looking around the streets.

She then saw a barmaid job, at a local bar and bit her lip, before taking in a deep breath and nodded.

It would have to do.

Emma Meyer Webster had accepted that when she took the job offer at Stark Tower, she'd be exposed to seeing the Avengers. She would be working with them, and she knew that she would run into them.

But no way in hell did she expect to work with James Buchanan Barnes, or as he preferred being called Bucky by everyone.

She was in the lab with her tool and equipment as she looked at the weapons on the table that needed fixing or being rebuilt. The door opened, and she saw Bucky enter wearily. She offered him a gentle smile, and he nodded at her.

Her iPhone vibrated, and she looked at it to see who had texted her. Calvin had bailed on their dinner date.

She sighs, placing the phone face down. She was tired of him bailing on their dates. It had been basically months since they had gone out. She knew that while everyone else was having fun with their boyfriends or families, the only real one she had was her sister and her lab.

That was about her life now.

"Something wrong?"

Her head snaps up and she realizes with a start that Bucky was still there. Very much there in her lab. Wow. He was so quiet that he barely made a sound. Then again, he had used to be an assassin.

"Yes, sorry," she chuckles awkwardly, looking at the ground. "Just people are being annoying to me. Same old, same old." She clears her throat and walks over to him. "Did anyone tell you what we were going to be working on today?"

Bucky nods, sitting down in one of the chairs. "Steve mentioned some sort of weapon, but can I be honest with you?" She nods. "I don't know jack shit about some of this stuff."

She chuckles. She knew Steve was just trying to get Bucky to be rehabilitated into normal life. He had come to her earlier in the week to ask her to bring him into the lab and give him a job, had said he needed something to do with his hands that was helping people, not hurting people.

Steve, she was used to. He actually wasn't that bad of a friend. His smile was precious though. She didn't understand how someone hadn't swept him off into their lives yet. Bucky, on the other hand, was mysterious. He was quiet and often kept to himself, adding to the vibe. It wasn't anything she was afraid of. She had grown to let go of her fears in her time being here.

But he was definitely one of the quiet people.

"It's alright. Steve's told me about this." She sits down next to him. "The first thing are the guns. I know that you prefer those instead of hand to hand, right?" He nods. "You've been trained with them all your life. But I've been working on some new ones that might suit you well. So, I need your opinion on them and need to know how you use one so I can tune it to your capabilities."

He nods, looking at them quietly. Emma smiles gently and places a hand over his. The subtle movement causes him to look back at her, his brow furrowed.

"The second is a restoration technology."

He looks at her, confusion clearly written in his eyes. "…what?"

She smiles and pulls away. "I know not being able to remember your past is terrible, Bucky." She moves towards the table and rests her hands against the smooth surface. "If anything, I'm sort of the opposite of you. I would give anything to let go of a couple of…bad memories."

He looks at her quietly. "Like what?" She looks back at him, and he raises his hands in defence. "If you don't want to answer, I-"

She shakes her head. "Don't worry, you haven't done anything wrong." She smiles sadly and looks down. "Just some bad childhood memories, is all. My sister getting sick, my mother dying…other things that not a lot of people are too fond of remembering." She swallows thickly and lets her emotions go to the side. It wasn't the time to get emotional, especially in front of Bucky. "But you aren't like that, Bucky. You want to remember everything. And I don't blame you."

Emma walks over to him quietly and takes his metal hand. He had been given a new arm due to T'Challa, but she knew that he still felt weary of people around it. He seemed ever shocked she took it.

"I've been developing some sort of memory restoration technology that should bring back about ninety-five percent of your memories." His eyes widen at her numbers. "Not all, but the ones that matter the most. I just need you here so we can keep testing."

He looks at her, almost in shock. And then, slowly, he speaks. "Why are you helping me?" he asks her quietly.

"It's my job," she chuckles. "I work for your people now, and you're important. If I can make your life easier, even with this, then I'm doing a good job." She glances over at her phone as it starts to ring. Quietly, she looks at it to see that it was Calvin. She quickly hits her power button, sending him to voicemail. This was not the time. "I'm here to help you. It's what I love to do." She glances over at the weapons. "And maybe be able to see an Avenger every once and a while. That's pretty cool, too."

Bucky smiled at her then. And good lord, it was a beautiful smile, like the one she'd seen of him at the Smithsonian Museum, in the Howling Commandos exhibit.

It was such a happy smile. It lit up his whole face. Emma got the feeling that Bucky didn't smile a lot given what he had seen, done and what had been done to him. And it was nice that she was seeing it.

"So, this tech...it could help me remember the memories that I've lost because of the memory suppressant machine?" Bucky asked hesitantly, starting to feel hopeful.

Emma smiled and nodded. She guided him over and got the wires ready. Bucky laid down on the medical bed. He noticed that the lab in Stark Tower was very different to the ones that HYDRA and the KGB had used for him in missions and after. It was a lot more...nice.

"Yes. The wires will help you remember memories that the memory suppressant machine made you forget due to the extensive mind wipes. It will be uncomfortable at first, but you'll relax and then it will help you remember," Emma explained gently, Bucky nodded and laid back as the machine began to work. He watched as she went over to a record player in corner.

Soft, soothing 1930's and 1940's music began to play, soothing him. He was guided through a memory that was of his first meeting with Steve…when they were both six years old.

James Buchanan Barnes glared at the bully, Brian O'Malley, who had decided to make fun of Steve for having no father. He was a weak, sickly, dandy boy.

Bucky felt angry as he heard Brian taunting and bullying Steve. Saying how Steve's father had probably survived the First World War, and had probably married a woman and had healthy children. The kid looked small compared to them, but he looked angry.

At that minute, Steve saw red and charged at Brian, punching him squarely in the face. Brian had ripped his duffle bag and spilled out the contents of his bag. The guy had that coming.

"You're a liar! You don't know shit about my pa and my ma, Brian! My mama was an army nurse and my da served with the 107th Regiment. He was a hero!" Steve shouted defiantly. His face turned red with anger and also due to his lack of breathing.

Brian and his friends laughed.

"You're weak, Rogers. You're all alone and a burden on your mother. I bet she works as a prostitute!" he said snidely. Steve charged at him then, punching him across the face.

Brian staggered back in pain, clutching his bloody nose. He glared at Steve with a look of rage, when Bucky strode over angrily. He stood beside Steve. The smaller guy looked confused.

"Wrong, fellas. Steve's my best friend and I ain't letting you and your friends badmouth him and his mother. Your mother would be ashamed of you," Bucky said calmly, not in the least bit afraid.

Steve looked on in astonishment, struggling to breathe. He looked for his inhaler, as his face turned dark red.

"What are you gonna do about it, Barnes? Gonna ask your gypsy mama to put a curse or hex on us?" Brian taunted spitefully. Bucky didn't even flinch, and he punched the punk across the face.

Steve watched on in astonishment as Bucky scared off Brian and his friends, before giving him the inhaler. He helped him take it, looking at the young boy.

"Easy there, Steve. Deep breaths, don't want you passing out," Bucky urged gently. Steve did as he said and offered the boy a shy smile. He gave him his hand.

"I'm Steve Grant Rogers…what's your name?" he asked shyly. Bucky smiled at him. It was a friendly smile.

"James Buchanan Barnes. You can call me Bucky, though," he said softly, and the two began walking to the school.

"Can we be friends?"

Bucky looks at him quietly before letting out a soft smile. "'Course, Rogers. Why not?" he asks him, before wrapping an arm around his tiny body. "Someone's gotta stop you from getting yourself into trouble."

"They deserved it!"

"I know they did, Steve."

Bucky gasps as his eyes open, as if trying to gain air like Steve had back then. He had remembered. He had actually remembered all that time ago. When he had first met him. It had happened. He had remembered.

"Bucky?" He looks over to see Emma walk towards him, almost quietly. "Are you okay?" she asks him quietly.

He looks at her, almost dumbfounded himself, before he pulled her close into him and wrapped his arms around her. His hug was so tight it nearly made her gasp for breath, but she knew it was just an emotional moment for him. It was only natural.

"Thank you," he whispers, his voice almost shaking. She smiles softly and wraps her arms around him as well, letting them rest against his back. A moment later, he pulls away, letting out a hopeful laugh.

"What did you remember?" she asks him.

"Steve and I…when we first met. All those years ago. I remembered that far back, Emma. You…" He shakes his head, looking at her in astonishment. "You're amazing."

She blushes and rolls her eyes. "Oh, be quiet. I'm not that crazy good. This was luck that this actually worked." She rests her hands against his shoulders. "But I'm happy it does. It means we can keep moving forward with it…you might just be Bucky again, Bucky," she says, a soft smile on her lips.

Bucky looks at her quietly, his own smile clear on his face. A moment later, the door to the lab opens and the pair look over to Steve. His own smile develops once he sees theirs.

"I'm guessing everything went well?"

Clint Barton was having a damn rough time. And he didn't like to admit it, but he really was.

After the battle, he was so tired. He had lost nearly everything, everything was gone. And he felt like absolute shit because of it. And all he wanted was to get a beer and just forget about it all. Maybe get drunk for once in his life.

So as he walked into a bar, titled 'Midnight Bayou,' he walked over to a table and sat down, placing his head in his hands. He needed something to forget everything with. Something better.

But in this world, was there really anything better?

"Can I help you?"

Clint glances up and sees a woman who was standing there, a pad in her hand. She had bags under her eyes, and clearly there was something wrong with her. She had some sort of tired glow around her. But she still had that smile that everyone had to have.

He had to give her props, he didn't know how people dealt with places like this. A million drunkards all just clamouring over waitresses.

"Yeah, just a beer," he says quietly.

She nods, writing it down. "On the rocks?"

"Sure."

She nods and then looks at him. "You're Clint Barton, right?" He seemed shocked that she knew him. "I just wanted to thank you for what you've done for the city, along with the rest of your team. We would probably all be dead now if it wasn't for you guys."

"It was the right thing to do. We weren't just going to stand by and let Thanos kill everyone with his army," Clint said quietly, trying really hard not to think of Laura and her betrayal.

It was still too raw to think about. He had tried really hard to make her happy during their marriage, but it hadn't been enough. He was alone. Again.

"Well, still, I think you and your team were very brave. Would you like anything to eat while waiting?" she asked gently. Clint looked at the menu and chose some jalapeño poppers.

"I'd like some of those, thanks," Clint said gratefully. Jessica nodded and went to give the order. He observed the bar, and saw the people getting drunk around him. He wished he could be as carefree as them.

Funnily enough, Jessica, T'Challa and the country of Wakanda were grateful for their help in stopping Thanos and the Black Order from enslaving everyone and destroying Earth. Vision was gone, or missing. Drax was dead, along with Nebula. His marriage was gone. He'd been so happy to get back to the farm to greet Laura, and he'd found her in bed with that asshole. How long had she been sleeping with him? Behind his back and laughing at him?

He'd gotten rid of the farmhouse. He'd divorced Laura. And he'd moved into Stark Tower, with Lucky, his one-eyed golden Labrador. That was it, along with his guitar, truck and motorcycle.

Not to mention his bow and his arrows. That was the one material thing he had felt the need to bring with him. He felt lost and ran a hand through his dark blonde almost brown hair. He had cut it into sort of a mohawk before the fight with Thanos, but his hair was growing back.

The young woman came back with a plate in her left hand and his beer in her right. She placed it on the table, and he noticed just then the kind of outfit the waitresses were forced to wear. Short black skirts that were above the knee, and white shirts, tight enough that there was really barely anything left to the imagination. Her dark brown, almost black hair was pulled back in a bun. He could see the dark circles underneath her eyes.

She looked dead on her feet.

"Here's your food and your drink. Can I get you anything else?" she asked genuinely. Clint shook his head and swallowed.

"No, this is fine, thank you," Clint said politely. The woman nodded and was about to leave, when he decided to speak. "What's your name?" He asked curiously. She looked at him with a shy, weary smile and sighed.

"Jessica. Jessica Meyer Webster," she said quietly. He noticed that her nails were painted dark red.

"Thanks, Jessica," he said finally. She offered him a smile and went to clean up some tables before her shift ended. Her feet were killing her.

Clint ate his food in silence and drank his beer. He looked at the large plasma TV screen and saw that the UN were considering placing in new laws into the Sokovia Accords following the War with Thanos.

There were also people, mainly politicians, who were blaming Jane Foster for what had happened, arguing that if she hadn't meddled with things, countries wouldn't have been destroyed.

He bit into an jalapeño popper, and felt the heat burn his tongue but in a good way. He ate his meal quietly and finished his beer, before paying the bill. He left a $60-dollar tip for Jessica, along with a note, thanking her for cheering him up and not making a big deal that he'd been in the bar.

Jessica found the tip and the note from Clint just as she'd finished her shift. Romeo had given her some jalapeño poppers as a treat, bit she was heading to KFC.

Her stomach growled in hunger. Emma had called her and told her that she'd be working late at Stark Tower to help Sergeant Bucky Barnes help regain his memories. Her sister was so lucky to have something like that, a steady job…and here Jessica was…doing nothing with her life now…what little bit of it she had left…

She said goodbye to Emma, and wished her well. She got KFC for the both of them, and ordered a ten-piece wicked variety meal with ten chicken strips, and ten hot wings.

She was hungry and so would Emma be when she got home. She walked to the apartment and let herself in, before stroking Starling, Tom, Jack, Bonnie and Clyde, along with Paul, Custard and Patch. Maybe they were a bunch of cat ladies, but hey, the animals were cute.

Since their apartment was more like a house, the cats were able to run around and into the garden. She set the food down and had a quick shower and washed her hair, before getting into a pair of black legging styled sweatpants and a grey t-shirt. Jessica put her food on a plate and left Emma's food on a plate in the microwave.

The cats were eating their food, with fresh water in their bowls. She quietly tucked into the chicken, and bit into the spicy food. It was almost orgasmic in her mouth.

Jessica sighs and eats her food more, glancing outside. She knew that Emma was off doing fantastic things. But here she was, really just wasting her life away surrounded by a million cats. Maybe she was kinda crazy, but at least she wasn't homeless.

Life could be a lot worse.

She quietly thinks back to the quiet man in the bar, remembering how he hadn't even seemed fazed by her compliment. He was probably used to getting them now, but he seemed almost tired, downtrodden. Obviously, she would know he would be, as would his team.

When you go up against a God, that sort of thing usually happens.

But there had been something else in his eyes that made him look almost…sad. Something that was hidden deep within them. But Jessica, with all her time, didn't have the amount of patience she should have to really look deeper into it.

He was a handsome man, though. In a gruff way. Falling in love or even in lust or anything like that seemed almost pointless to her at this stage in her life. She was going to die soon anyway, so what was the point of finding the one when she wouldn't even be able to stay with them? Now, she sort of just looked at guys for shits and grins.

Clint Barton was good-looking. Well, most of the Avengers were. She didn't doubt that. He just seemed to be…down on himself. He had written in his note that she had cheered him up, and in a weird way, Jessica was sort of proud of herself for being able to do that. It was nice that she was the reason maybe one person was smiling after a shitty day.

Well…at least one of them would be smiling.

Emma runs her hands through her hair for the umpteenth time that night. It seemed that every time she came close to something that might be able to help her sister, she got farther away. She had told Jessica that she would be staying late to help Bucky, but truly that had only lasted for a little while.

Honestly, she was staying in the lab to try and figure out a way to cure her sister. Her sister had been through so much shit in her life, and didn't deserve to die like this. Not like this.

Emma wasn't going to allow it.

Everyone had told her it was pointless, but they had never met her. They had never seen what she was capable of. She could make a damn explosion out of a pill if she wanted to. But for now, she was just going to figure out how to cure stage four fucking leukaemia.

She just had to have faith.

"Need something?"

She turns around at the voice and was shocked to find Bucky there. He had what looked like a cup of coffee in one of his hands, and another in his pocket. She lets out a sigh. "Why are you up? I told you to sleep after our session," she reprimands.

He chuckles at her stern voice, and God she hated the chuckle but loved it at the same time. It was nice to hear him show amusement at something, but she loathed it when people didn't take her seriously. Just because she was tiny didn't mean she couldn't kick someone's ass.

"I haven't slept well in a long time, doc," he says to her quietly. "These walks are sort of ritual to me now." He hands her the coffee. "Although this is the first time I've seen you here so late. Why haven't you gone home?"

She sighs. Should she tell him? They were already going to be spending time together. It wasn't going to cause any harm. Taking a sip of her coffee, Emma lets out another quiet sigh and glances up at him.

"My sister has really bad cancer. Every single damn doctor has said that it's pointless but I…I need to save her, Bucky. I need to save her and keep her alive. I can't let her die like this. She's been through too much. We both have. And for this to happen to her…" She lets her words trail off, trying to shake away the emotions that surrounded her. "I just need to work hard to figure out how to cure her…I know I can. Somehow."

Bucky looks at her quietly, seeing the bags under her eyes, how her hands shook. And for the first time in a while, he found himself caring about the actual scientists of this building. Most of them poked at him with tools and tricks, but Emma was doing this out of the goodness of her heart.

And it was clear it was taking a toll on her.

"Emma." She looks over at him. "Go home. You can continue you this tomorrow. But you need to rest." She glances at the ground, placing the coffee down. "Seriously…you're tired. I can see it in your eyes."

She sighs and bites her lip. "I know." Emma swallows, before nodding. "Alright…but you get sleep, you hear? I want you to be energized for our next session." She grabs her coat, glancing over at him.

"I'll be fine. Just get home safely, okay, doc?"

She smiles a bit. "I will…sleep tight, Bucky." And with that, she was out the door.

Bucky glances at it as it closes, and quietly, he places his hands in his pockets. "You too, doc," he mumbles to himself, before exiting the lab as well.

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