Bucky studied her for a moment before he realized that it must have been her smoothing down the sharp edges of the Winter Soldier.

"You've done it before," he said. It wasn't a question.

"I have," Lucy admitted after a moment. "At the hearing."

"Why?" Steve glowered at her rather impressively.

"He was getting agitated and it was edging into violence," Lucy said with a little shrug. "I figured it would be better if he didn't hurt anyone."

Bucky considered that, thinking back to what he remembered of the hearing and demonstration. The Soldier had noticed the unusual calm, but hadn't connected it to the woman accompanying Xavier.

"Good call," he said finally, glancing at her.

Lucy relaxed a little at that and nodded.

"I could do something similar with this," she said, nodding to him and Xavier. "But not without permission this time."

Bucky considered that for a moment before glancing at Steve. He was a little hesitant to let someone mess around in his head, but she had managed to keep the Soldier in check before.

Steve's mouth was still set in a grim line. He didn't like anyone (besides the Professor) messing with Bucky's head either. He met Bucky's gaze and shrugged a little. This time, he couldn't offer any advice, because he didn't think this was a good idea.

"For what it's worth," Mavin spoke up quietly, "I think it's a good idea. Lucy can definitely help." She looked at Steve. He was the one she needed to convince, at the moment.

Steve crossed his arms over his chest.

"How about a trial period, of sorts?" Xavier suggested when it seemed that Steve wasn't going to budge. "If anything she does makes you uncomfortable, you can let us know and she'll stop." He looked between Bucky and Steve.

Mavin was certain that Barnes wouldn't speak up, even if he was uncomfortable, but didn't say that aloud. She just watched the two, waiting for the verdict.

"Fine." Bucky glanced between Steve and Xavier to try to gauge reactions. He had no real preference, at the moment; the pros and cons evened out either way and he really didn't think he had much right to complain, anyways.

Xavier nodded. He was well aware that Bucky wouldn't speak up about it, but he also wouldn't need to. "Are you ready to continue?" he asked quietly.

Lucy shifted her weight, shifting her focus to Bucky now and ignoring Steve. Mostly.

Bucky took a moment to mentally take stock of himself before giving a bit of a resigned nod. There was really nothing else he could do but continue on.

Mavin sat back, letting Lucy and Xavier do their thing. Absently, she took out her phone and turned on the front-facing camera, keeping herself occupied by changing the color of her eyes. She was just there as a formality, after all. She cycled through a handful of colors, natural and otherwise, and then started to play with heterochromia a bit to see which color pairs she liked best.

Xavier went back to work, still being careful. Lucy helped soothe over some of the rough edges, trying to help him relax. But she was careful about it, trying not to make him uncomfortable.

Steve watched the proceedings with tightly crossed arms and a vaguely disapproving look on his face. Not for Xavier, but for Lucy.

Mavin glanced over from time to time, and she saw Steve glowering at Lucy. Quietly, so as not to disturb the others, she went over to him.

"She does genuinely want to help," she murmured.

Steve shook his head a bit. "She's an unknown," he murmured. "Even if the professor trusts her, we don't know her."

"I get that," Mavin said quietly. "But I know the Professor wouldn't have brought her in if he thought she wouldn't help. At least give her a chance."

Steve frowned. "I don't like more people than necessary mucking with his head," he muttered. "We'll see how this goes."

"It's only temporary," Mavin said quietly. "Only until there's not as much of a risk of triggering the Soldier."

"Even still." Steve frowned. "Now that she has permission she might do it more. I wouldn't even know if she decided to try with me, either."

"Knowing my sister, she probably won't," Mavin said, shaking her head just a bit. "She doesn't like touching people's emotions without explicit permission." She was quiet for a moment. "I do see where you're coming from. Just... You've trusted us this far. Just a little more, until Barnes is doing better."

Steve nodded a little, to show he'd heard. He was still going to reserve final judgment, but there was something about this he didn't like, even still.

Mavin could see that that was best she would get, for the moment. She stepped back again and settled in to wait for the professor and Lucy to call it quits for the day.

The professor finally moved back, the furrow in his brow easing as he eased himself out of Bucky's mind again.

"Take a few minutes to relax before you leave," he murmured. "You may feel a little unsettled, still."

"Tell me somethin' I don't know," Bucky muttered, just sitting there for a moment and trying to get his bearings. His head ached, and he kind of wanted to beat on a punching bag for a while until he felt more even.

Xavier smiled a little. "The feeling will pass," he assured him. "With time. Hopefully, you'll start to feel steadier, even before our next session."

Bucky hoped so, but he wouldn't hold his breath on it just yet. He was just too messed up for anything to improve yet, and he knew it.

Mavin jotted down a few more notes and closed her little notebook.

"There's probably some lunch in the kitchen," she suggested to everyone. She was certain moods would improve with some food.