Red, White & Blue | Bucky x Reader

Chapter Fourteen

Five years later...

After what happened with Thanos, I retreated deep within myself, afraid that my anger would consume me and that I would lose control again. Steve, on the other hand, began counselling a support group, listening to how other survivors are dealing with the travesty and offering them advice when they need it. With his life experience, it's a terrific job for him. But it also means that he's constantly trying to get me to open up when all I want to do is stay silent, only speaking when necessary. As a result, I moved into the Avengers' Compound with Natasha, who's been attempting to lead the remaining Avengers.

She doesn't mind the lack of conversation and, between the missions she sends me on, she fills the silence with stories of her sister, Yelena, and how she once failed her too. We tried searching for Yelena, but we found no trace of her. It's more than likely that she was Snapped away as well.

I sit with my feet up on the desk as Natasha makes a peanut butter sandwich, her blonde hair grown out and several inches of her natural red roots showing. On the holographs ahead of us, Nebula, Rocket, Okoye, Danvers, and Rhodes are shown, each calling in from their respective locations to give us their reports.

"Yeah, we boarded that highly suspect warship Danvers pinged," Rocket starts.

"It was an infectious garbage scowl," Nebula finishes.

"So, thanks for the hot tip," Rocket states, turning to Danvers.

Danvers shrugs. "Well, you were closer."

"Yeah. And now we smell like garbage," Rocket complains.

Natasha ignores their bickering, turning to Okoye. "You get a reading on those tremors?"

"It was a mild subduction under the African plate," Okoye reports.

"Do we have a visual?" Natasha asks. "How are we handling it?"

"Nat, it's an earthquake under the ocean," Okoye reminds her. "We handle it by not handling it."

Natasha turns to Danvers. "Carol, are we seeing you here next month?"

"Not likely," Carol replies.

"What, you gonna get another haircut?" Rocket remarks, commenting on Danvers' new, short pixie cut.

"Listen fur-face, I'm covering a lot of territory," Danvers snaps back, irritated. "The things that are happening on Earth, are happening everywhere, on thousands of planets."

"All right, all right, that's a good point," Rocket mumbles. "That's a good point."

Danvers turns back to Natasha. "So, you might not see me for a long time."

"Alright. Uh, well. This channel is always active," Natasha reminds them. "So, if anything goes sideways... anyone's making trouble where they shouldn't... comes through me."

One by one, our friends cut off the call, and Natasha slumps in her seat at the desk, exhausted. Glancing up a second later, she sees that Rhodes still connected.

"Where are you?" she asks.

"Mexico," Rhodes answers. "The Federales found a room full of bodies. Looks like a bunch of cartel guys. Never even had the chance to get their guns off."

"It's probably a rival gang," Natasha states, leaning back in her chair.

"Except it isn't," Rhodes argues. Natasha sits up. "It's definitely Barton. What he's done here, what he's been doing for the last few years... I mean, the scene that he left..." Natasha begins to tear up at the mention of her friend, but Rhodes continues. "I gotta tell you, there's a part of me that doesn't even want to find him."

The room fills with silence as Natasha takes a bite out of her sandwich, taking a minute to control her emotions. I slide my feet off the desk and sit up, concerned for my friend.

"Will you find out where he's going next?" Natasha asks.

"Nat..." Rhodes reasons.

"Please."

"Okay," Rhodes reluctantly agrees before turning to me. "Look out for each other."

Rhodes cuts off the call as Natasha begins to cry, and I shift in my seat to place my hand on her arm.

Natasha turns to face me, trying her best to smile. "I'm okay."

"You know, I'd offer to cook you dinner," Steve says as he steps through the doorway, leaning against the nearby bookshelf. "But you both seem pretty miserable already."

Natasha wipes the tears from her cheeks. "You here to do your laundry?"

"And to see two friends," Steve corrects before turning to me. "How are you doing, Y/n?"

I give Steve a smile and a quick nod, the only answer he'll get from me. Disappointment lingers in his eyes as he returns my smile, I know he was hoping I would say something.

"Clearly, your friends are fine," Natasha jokes, trying to make light of the situation.

"You know, I saw a pod of whales when I was coming up the bridge," Steve states.

"In the Hudson?" Natasha asks.

"There's fewer ships, cleaner water," Steve tells us.

"You know, if you're about to tell me to look on the bright side," Natasha half-heartedly warns. "Um... I'm about to hit you in the head with a peanut butter sandwich."

Natasha jokingly smiles, and Steve returns it. Even I can't help but smirk at the idle threat.

"Sorry, force of habit," Steve replies, throwing his jacket over the back of a chair before sitting across the table from us. "You know, I keep telling everybody they should move on and... grow. Some do. But not us."

"If I move on, who does this?" Natasha asks.

"Maybe it doesn't need to be done," Steve answers.

Natasha settles back in her chair. "I used to have nothing. And then I got this. This job... This family. And I was... I was better because of it. And even though... they're gone... I'm still trying to be better."

"I think we need to get a life," Steve replies.

Natasha softly smiles. "You first."

Suddenly, camera footage pops up on the monitor ahead of us, showing us a black-haired man standing in front of his brown van, his blue eyes staring up at the camera.

"Oh! Hi. Hi! Is anyone home?" he asks. "This is Scott Lang. We met a few years ago, at the airport? In Germany? I got really big, and I had a mask on. You wouldn't recognize me."

Steve abruptly stands from his chair, staring at the screen. "Is this an old message?"

Natasha and I stand as well, sharing a quick look before Natasha answers, "It's the front gate."