A/N: I had a few wonderful reviewers who said they'd be interested in more Penny Parker fics, so here you go! Enjoy. :)

There wasn't enough patience in the world today for James Buchanan Barnes. Especially when it came to someone messing around with Penny.

She had come into the compound kitchen after school a lot quieter than she usually did. Bucky tried to convince himself that he was just imagining it. But after moving into the compound after Tony cleaned up the Accords nonsense, he'd been seeing Penny around a lot more often. And today, something was definitely off. Penny had her hood pulled over her head, which was tucked downward, hiding her face from view. She shuffled into the kitchen as nonchalantly as possible, then startled when she saw Bucky at the counter. He turned to face her, smile falling when she ducked in the opposite direction, pulling open the massive fridge doors.

"Hey, Pen," he said casually. The chaotic rifling noises from the fridge stopped. "I made sandwiches."
"Oh, uh-cool." her voice replied. It was wavering ever so slightly.
"I have turkey."
"That's nice." Oh yeah. Something was up.
"Uh-huh." Bucky padded over to the fridge, leaning against the counter. "So...you gonna stop hiding and eat some?"
"I'm not hiding."
"Oh really?" Bucky laughed. This kid. "What would you say you're doing, then?"
"Uh...selecting a bagel."
"Mm-hm. Alright, punk. Tell me what's-" Bucky swung the fridge door shut and froze. Penny's eyes locked onto his for a split second, then fell back towards the ground.

She had a massive shiner. Her left eye was swollen shut, the area around it turning a gruesome purple and green. Bucky inhaled slowly, dragging a hand over his face. When he spoke, his voice was dangerously low.

"Who did this to you?"

They both knew it was hardly a question.

"It doesn't matter. I'm fine." Penny sat down at one of the island's barstools, tracing patterns into the marbled countertop. Bucky had to keep himself from demanding to know, now. Because yeah, it did matter, and no, she isn't fine. Not to him. They were both silent as he opened the freezer and snagged a bag of peas, which he plopped into her open palm.

"There. Ice it." Gently, he brought her hand clutching the peas up to her eye. She winced as the solid bumped her tender skin, then sighed in relief at the coolness. Bucky sat down at the island across from her. For a few moments, it was silent. Bucky didn't want to push her. He didn't want to seem cold or angry. So instead he chewed his turkey sandwich and waited for her to talk first. And she did.

"Thank you." It came out more like a whisper than anything. But it was enough.
"Did it happen on patrol?" Penny hesitated. "Don't lie. I'm not upset with you."
"But you are upset."
He spoke slowly, trying to convey the message as best he could."Yeah, at the bastard that did this to you. I could...never be angry with you. It would be like being angry with Steve."
"But you do get angry at Steve."
This time Bucky laughed lightly. "Yeah, because he's stupid. I don't hold it against him, though."
Penny relaxed a little. "So what do you do? If you're mad at him."
"I chew him out." Bucky smiled. "And you think he's the preachy one."

Penny gave a wry smile back, and they fell back into silence. They did this a lot, he and Penny. He wasn't one for words, and so unless she felt like making up for it (and boy, would she, on the best days), they kind of just...were. Together. It was companionable. Never tense. Which surprised him, because awkward, uncomfortable silences were practically his new normal, even around his...friends. The Avengers. Whatever.

Sometimes he and Penny would bake together, trading favorite songs to listen to as they mixed and measured and iced. Sometimes, when Steve was around, she would visit and the two of them would watch Steve sketch at the park. He always brought seed to feed the birds-Penny loved feeding the birds. He'd never forget the look of wonder on her face when one finally landed in her cupped palm for the first time.

Damn.

Sometimes he forgot that this was Stark's kid.

It would hit him, some days, that he had no right trying to...what? Mentor her? She already had one of those. And hers wasn't a dangerous, brainwashed murderer. It didn't matter, though. He still made her priority number two, right after Steve. Protect at all costs. And right now, he was looking directly into the eyes of a mission failure.

"It didn't happen at patrols." Penny said, breaking his train of thought. Bucky looked up from his sandwich.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." Penny nodded, seemingly searching for words, and Bucky pushed his plate with the other uneaten sandwich half towards her. She took it gratefully, chewing thoughtfully as she ate.

"It was at school." she said after swallowing. "There's this kid...Flash. He's just your typical douchebag. You know, knocking books out of your arms, classy nicknames, picking fights." She nodded resolutely. "Anyways, after school he grabbed my arm and I sort of spat in his face, and...he punched me." she shrugged.
"Why didn't you hit him back? You could take him." Bucky asked, brow furrowed.
Penny laughed. "Oh, I know. I've fought aliens, remember? Those orange ones last summer? But I can't fight him. I've got a secret identity to uphold."
"You can't show them how strong you are." Bucky said, realization washing over him.
Penny nodded. "Yup. So I run slow in gym and pretend like a can't do more than a few pull-ups and whatever. It's a little tricky, sometimes, to be honest."
"Tricky how?"
"You try explaining away a sudden lack of asthma and increase in muscle mass overnight."
Bucky laughed again. "You sound like Steve." he crumpled up his napkin. "But what's this kid's real name?"
"Bucky, don't. It's fine. You don't have to step in." Penny pleaded. "I can handle this."

Cue the internal battle in Bucky's mind. In the end, he agreed. Reluctantly.

"Fine. But if he hits you again…"
"Then I'll deal with it."
"Okay." But her answer didn't seem to satisfy him. "C'mere. Lemme see."
She pulled back the melting bag of peas and he let his real fingers brush over it gently, scrutinizing the damage. Penny suppressed a flinch.
"It'll be gone in half an hour." she said.
"Not making me feel much better."
"He happens to be a fan of Spidergirl."
Bucky stopped his examination and locked eyes with her. "No."
She smirked. "Yes."
A grin crept up Bucky's face.

Two weeks later, Eugene Thompson would receive a mysterious package in the mail. It would have no return address whatsoever. Much to his delight, inside the box was a jacket, emblazoned with Spidergirl's logo. He would never understand why, whenever he wore it, the Winter Soldier himself would seem to be wherever where he was. He would never find the tiny tracker tucked into the tag.

Penny remained confused as to why Bucky was being seen around town more as well, but she would merely chalk it up to his being more socially active all of a sudden.

Bucky figured it was easier to just go with that.

A/N: Aaaand here's where I throw in all those little updates for y'all, so you know what I'm up to. What would you say about short drabbles posted here, or on another series? They'd be pretty short n' sweet, but it would be a chance for me to do more prompts faster, including ones from you guys. Maybe I'd do two series, for Penny and Peter? Let me know what you think.

That's all for now. Thank you for reading, and please take a moment to leave a review! They always make my day. :) Oh, and if you're interested in more Penny fics to read right now, check out I Would Count the Seas of Stars For You, ft. protective Nat and a kidnapped Pen.

Alright, g'bye for now,
-A.A.13