We Get One Shot At This

Who's Side Are You On?

"Tell me where she is!"

Steve's body slammed back against the apartment door as Bucky's fist connected to his chin, but he made no effort to strike back. "I can't do that, Buck. I promised her." He straightened and rubbed the sting from his face, "I'm not gonna fight you. You gotta let her do this, and you gotta calm down."

Bucky lunged forwards again, pushing his friend back again, holding the front of his shirt in both hands. "You didn't even try to stop her, did you?" When Steve didn't reply, but instead looked down and away from his angry stare, Bucky's eyes widened as he released him and started to back away. "Shit, you're hiding her from me, aren't you? What are you up to? Is there something going on between you?"

"Buck, don't be ridiculous. Of course there isn't." His hand went to his mouth to wipe away a small drop of blood, but when his fingers touched his lips, the memory of your kiss flashed through his mind. "She just asked me to do this for her, and I agreed. I'm not hiding her from you." No matter how much I want to.

Bucky's breathing was fast and uneven, pacing in front of Steve, thinking about what his next move should be. "Okay," he mumbled to himself, "okay where else could she be? Where haven't I looked?"

"Come on, man...."

"Fuck! Why didn't I think of that!" Your husband yelled as the revelation came to him. He ran from your apartment and down the stairs, taking them three at a time. "I know where she is!"

~~~

Tony sat motionless in front of you, processing what you had just said. You watched his face, trying to read the gamut of emotions that were crossing it. You were convinced that he was trying to decide if he was going to turn you in or just go right for killing you; you were in the state of mind to accept either, willingly, so that he could find the retribution that his parents deserved.

"Was she afraid?"

Well, that was not what you were expecting as his first words after your revelation. He wasn't looking at you, and honestly, his eyes were the last thing you wanted to see. "Uh," you whispered, "she...she was at first. But, I couldn't do it...and, um...I looked away." You reached over to grab the whiskey bottle that you had successfully ignored for an entire ten minutes and took a long drink. "I should have stopped him, and I'm sorry."

"And dad?"

"Tony..."

"Tell me, (Y/N)."

You took another drink, even though your enhanced metabolism refused to allow it to help you. "He was already gone by the time I reached her." Why was he asking for details, as if this weren't hard enough for you to say and hard enough for him to hear? "It was fast, I promise."

He leaned back in the chair and covered his eyes with both hands, pushing against them as if to stop any tears from escaping. "Okay, so what do we do now?" he groaned, but you weren't sure if he was talking to you or to himself.

"I'm going to do whatever you decide."

"You're putting a hell of a lot of trust in me," he said. Taking one more drink, you stepped forward and handed him the bottle. This time he took it readily and threw his head back as he drank. "This is why you ran out of the tower, right? Fighting with your husband brought this memory back?"

"Yeah."

When he looked at you, he was no longer fighting the tears from building, but he still looked despondent. "I'm sorry."

You opened your mouth to reply, but his words weren't what you expected. "Wait, what?"

"I'm sorry."