A/n:

A fun little idea I've thought of. I've always loved the idea of a joyful and quirky Luna, alongside a broken and tired Bucky. She's someone who always sees the good in people, while he, recently escaping from Hydra's brainwashing, was in a bad place of sorts and tormented by many of his own demons. So perhaps, all he needs to heal, is a little "Luna treatment!"

There's obviously going to be a plot, but it's not something we'll delve into right at the start. The first few chapters mostly revolves around their interactions and growing relationship - within that little cottage of hers.

I have this idea of a little oasis deep within the Forbidden Forest. Kind of like how the eye of the storm holds a region of calmer weather, it'll be a place where she calls home.

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Chapter: 1

She spotted numerous Nargles in her garden that quiet afternoon; abnormally more than the usual pesky bunch. Autumn had reached deep into the forest, painting the canvas once-green, into vivid shades of yellow, orange and red. The afternoon sunlight filtered through the hanging willow trees, tinting the fallen leaves with different tinges of autumn's touch.

Luna Lovegood pulled her blonde locks back into a single ponytail, the autumn breeze slightly fluttering the colorful summer dress that adorned her willowy figure. Removing her butterbeer cork necklace (as it tends to scare them off), she tiptoed quietly in the direction of the blueberry shrubs where she last spotted the mischievous creatures.

She approached carefully and quietly, not wanting to scare away nor alert the Nargles; their gathering was a peculiar sight, and Luna Lovegood - an easily amused witch, was brimming with curiosity and excitement. She followed them into the shrubs, gently parting aside the leaves as she crawled into the enclosed space, following the disturbed path and coming out from the other end of her garden.

Picking herself up from the ground, Luna was brushing away at the clinging leaves and dried mud when she felt something stirring near the shadows to her left. She turned – and her toes knocked into something solid, prompting a painful yelp from her direction. She quickly pressed her palms to her lips, trying to muffle her startled shriek – but it was already too late, the Nargles have all but fled.

Huffing disappointedly, she diverted her attention back to whatever it was that she had kicked. It seemed to be a metallic object of some sort, glinting softly in the ebbing glow of afternoon's reach. It stuck out from underneath a pile of fallen leaves, like a half burrowed Mooncalf; but unlike the shy nocturnal creature, the object did not seem to be sentient, at least from where she stood.

Yet from its shape, and the curve that resembled much of an elbow, she couldn't help but to picture the object as an actual arm, albeit made of metal. Luna Lovegood had seen weirder, and crazier things; she wasn't the type to judge. She poked it at with her toe, prodding it a few more times but to no visible response. She then planted her arms on her hips and sighed, knowing that she couldn't leave until her curiosity was fully sated; it was perplexing, and she was drawn to every form of strangeness without prejudice.

Kneeling down beside the object, she blew onto her palms and rubbed them together before grabbing the it and pulling as hard as she could. The massive pile of leaves started to shift and wobble - she pulled even harder – and suddenly, something came loose and she was falling backwards, painfully onto her bum.

When she eventually regained her composure and came upon the sight in front of her; silvery-blue eyes widened in complete surprise, there were at least five of them, the rarest of fairy Nargles, circling around an unconscious male - and in her twenty plus odd years, the last thing Luna Lovegood expected to find in her garden on that lazy autumn's afternoon - was an unconscious male, with a metallic arm.

And the fairy Nargles of course, how oddly delightful.

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He saw movement in his peripherals – and he reacted instantly, his weapon brought up to his front, years of training and instinct taking over – two taps, one into the HYDRA agent's chest, the other into the center of the man's skull. He was moving before the body even crumpled to the ground, the granite floor around him exploding as gunfire erupted from above. He darted forward, using the enhanced strength of his augmented arm to vault himself towards cover of an unmarked container.

He followed its length, eventually coming across a locked door that led into the facility's interior. He grabbed onto the doorknob, the gears in his arm whirling as he crushed the object effortlessly and kicked in the door. He entered the darkened interior, his gun drawn and tracking for any additional movement.

He could hear unintelligible shouting, like issued commands, muffled from the floor above him. They were tracking him, trying to draw him out and put him down. He knew they were prepared for his destructive intrusion - after all, he had left a trail of bodies since breaking free from HYDRA's mind control, but the Winter Soldier was hardly a prey to be pinned down; he was a predator, a vengeful force of nature that sought to brutally take the lives of those that had wronged him – and HYDRA did.

They had kept him under their control for almost half a century, augmenting him with their technology, controlling his weakened mind, constantly taking him out of stasis whenever opportunities presented themselves and sending him back in afterwards.

He unloaded his weapon's magazine, but before he could snap another into place, something slammed into the back of his left shoulder, staggering him forward into a roll; the Kevlar protected him, but it still hurt like hell. He grunted angrily and pivoted, returning fire in the direction of the previous shooter.

Wooden splinters erupted around the shooter, causing him to flinch, just enough for the lone soldier to circle around his adversary, finding a clean angle and emptying his magazine into the dead HYDRA agent's chest.

The room fell quiet once more, and it was only then, he heard the soft ticking coming from behind an overturned table. The ticking stopped – and his breath caught, before an erupting fireball consumed the entire facility whole. The explosion tore into him – flinging him from where he stood, the following shockwaves of heat shattering bones and burning flesh.

And the last thing Bucky – the man once known as James Barnes realized before darkness consumed him whole, was that perhaps after all these years, it was finally his turn to rest.

Except it wasn't.

His return to reality was a jarring one – he burst free from confining sheets, painfully heaving as he grasped blindly at the space in front of him. He remembered the trap, the following explosion that supposedly ripped him to shreds. Yet for some reason, he was still in one complete piece - and as he started to examine himself, he soon realized there were no additional injuries either.

Gradually, his eyes adjusted to his dimly lit surroundings, and he saw that he was in a cottage of some kind; it felt rustic, without a modern setting, but still comfortably furnished. It reminded him of the seaside cottage he frequented before the war – a life long passed, and until his recent escape from HYDRA's grasp, all but forgotten.

He tried to stand, but found he lacked the strength. There were no visible injuries, but he felt weirdly detached from his body, as though recently administered a high dose of powerful anesthetic. Slowly, he pulled himself upright, his legs sliding off the bed and onto the carpeted floor below. He tested his limbs, making sure they could handle his weight, but before he managed to get onto his feet, the doors on the opposite end of the cottage swung open – and she entered.

A young woman in a summer dress; she held a basket of fruits in one hand and a stick-like object in the other. She was humming to herself, skipping her way over to the pantry where she placed down her basket. Then she turned – and their eyes caught. She stopped, her head tilting curiously before a warm smile crossed her lips. "Hello there Mister, you're finally awake!"

He blinked, his lips parting for a brief second, but ultimately unable to find the words to respond. Instead, he remained on the edge of the bed, feeling extremely awkward and uncomfortable.

She however, seemed completely at ease. She tugged at her hair's knot, loosening the bow and releasing a headful of pale locks that tumbled down her shoulders. An eyebrow cocked quizzically in his direction. "Did the Nargles take your tongue as well?"

"What?" he stuttered, "Nargles?"

"Guess not, I thought fairy Nargles loved human tongues," she sounded almost disappointed, and there was no hiding how her eyes brimmed with excitement at his presence. She took a few careful steps in his direction, stopping an arm's length before where he sat, her arms crossed behind her back. "I'm Luna, Luna Lovegood, who might you be?"

"I- I'm James… James Barnes," he said before asking, "where… am I?"

"You're in the heart of the Forbidden Forest," she responded cheerfully, "also known as – home!"

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To be continued...