Stonehearted | Bucky Barnes x Reader

chapter 53

"Okay" he says and leaves. Nat puts her sandwich down and starts crying softly. I pull her in for a hug and end up crying on her shoulder.

"You know, I'd offer to cook you dinner... But you seem pretty miserable already" Steve said and I looked at him. He smiled softly at me and I wiped away my tears but more fell down. Nat straightened herself out.

"You here to do your laundry?" she asked Steve.

"And to see a friend. And my little sis" he says and I smile.

"Clearly, your friend and sister are fine" Nat says and leans back in her chair, looking at Steve.

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

"In the Hudson?" Nat asked, 'surprised'.

"There's fewer ships... Cleaner water"

"You know, if you're about to tell me to look on the bright side... Um... I'm about to hit you in the head with a peanut butter sandwich" Nat said, smiling at him. Steve looks down.

"Hmm. Sorry. Force of habit" Steve said, putting down his jacket and keys before taking a seat opposite Nat. I sat up in my seat "You know, I keep telling everybody They should move on... And grow. Some do. But not us"

"If I move on, who does this?" Nat asked.

"Maybe it doesn't need to be done"

"I used to have nothing. And then I got this. This job. This family. And I was better because of it" Nat said and there was a pause. More tears came down and a few fell for Nat "And even though they're gone... I'm still trying to be better"

"You know, I used to think that maybe everything that happened in the movies was over dramatic. But being here, living here with you guys made me realise how much pain and suffering everyone has gone through. And I think I'm scared because of this. I'm terrified even though I know what's going to happen and it should ease my mind but it doesn't. It never does. It hurts everyday knowing the future. But I still want to know because if I don't..." I say, crying as I speak, letting out all my fears.

"I think we all need to get a life" Steve said.

"You first" Nat said.

"Even if I wanted to, I can't" I say and get up but fall over.

"Y/N?" Nat asks.

"I'm fine" I say and try to get up. Nat helps me sit in my chair.

"You're thin. You haven't been eating. I told you to eat something at Tony's cause you barely eat here. Go get something or I will"

"I can't eat, Nat! I can't eat, I can't sleep, I can't do anything. I'm useless to my own body. I can't. Not without Scott. I need to know he's here" I say, looking at Nat. I look at Steve and he looks at me sad. There is a chime and Nat slides something to the side.

"Oh, hi, hi!" Scott yelled and I looked at him happy "Uh, is anyone home? This is, uh, Scott Lang. We met a few years ago at the airport... In Germany? I was the guy that got really big. I had a mask on. You wouldn't recognise me"

"Is this an old message?" Steve asked. I had a huge smile on my face.

"Ant-Man. I know you know that" Scott continued.

"It's the front gate" me and Nat say at the same time.

"I really need to talk to you guys" Scott said.

~~~~~

Scott was muttering to himself about something, pacing back and forth.

"Scott" Steve called "Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah" Scott said. He covered his face with his hands and then looked at us "Have any of you guys studied quantum physics?"

"Only to make conversation" Nat said.

"Yeah. After I met you I remembered that I needed to know as much as possible for this movie" I say, looking at Scott. Scott pointed to me.

"Alright, so... 5 years ago, right before... Thanos... I was in the place called the quantum realm. The quantum realm is like its own microscopic universe"

"Right. To get in there, you have to be incredibly small" I say and Scott nods his head.

"Hope. She's my, um... She was my... She was supposed to pull me out. And then Thanos happened... And I got stuck in there" Scott continued.

"I'm sorry, that must have been a very long 5 years" Nat says.

"Yeah, but that's just it. It wasn't. For me it was 5 hours" Scott said.

"If he was in there for 5 years, he would have starved to death and it would be 50 years up here, I think" I say and Scott looks at me like I'm a genius or something.

"See, the rules of the quantum realm aren't like they are up here. Everything is unpredictable. Is that anybody's sandwich? I'm starving" he asks and I give him the plate as he comes to me

"Scott. What are you talking about?" Steve asks as Scott takes a bite from the sandwich.

"So... What I'm saying is... Time works differently in the quantum realm. The only problem is right now we don't have a way to navigate it. But what if we did?" Scott was now pacing back and forth again "I can't stop thinking about it. What if we could somehow control the chaos... And we could navigate it? What if there was a way... That we could enter the quantum realm at a certain point in time... But then exit the quantum realm at another point in time? Like... Like before Thanos"

"Wait. Are you talking about a time machine?" Steve asks.

"Like Marty Mcfly or Doctor Who" I say and look at Scott.

"No. No, of course not. No, not a time machine. This is more like a... Yeah. Like a time machine. I know, it's crazy. It's crazy. But I can't stop thinking about it. There's gotta be... Some way... It's crazy"

"Scott. I get emails from a raccoon... So nothing sounds crazy anymore"

"So, who do we talk to about this?"