Bucky x Maze

Part 15

She is awoken by the feeling of a blanket covering her. She keeps her eyes closed, but she recognizes Bucky's scent. He looks at her, full of worries. He wanted to see if she was ready to talk. She didn't answer her door so he entered and saw her asleep, all curled up on her bed. She looked peaceful, so he grabbed the throw blanket and covered her with it. He kisses her forehead before leaving the room, closing the door behind him. She opens her eyes, touched by the softness of his action. She looks at the time and is shocked to see it's already 7pm. She slept all afternoon. She looks at her inbox and sees a couple of responses to her email.

Nat - Good work Lex, you are on fire.

Steve - That must have been hard for you. If you want to talk, you know I'm here.

Sam - We're one step closer to bringing them down thanks to you.

Tony - Great work.

She is starting to get a headache so she gets up and grabs her purse. She rummages in it, trying to find some ibuprofen when she finds Nathan's note from the bar. She stares at the piece of paper and gets an idea. She grabs her laptop and decides to do a quick search in the S.H.I.E.L.D database. She closes her eyes, trying to remember his last name. She tries to remember the time she met him at the beach.

Stranger: You seem so far away. What is a pretty woman like you so concerned about?

She stands up, not planning on talking about her issues with a perfect stranger.

Lexi: Sorry, I don't open up to strangers...

Stranger: Do you open up at all?

She looks at him with a frown. He just stares into her eyes with a smirk, knowing he is right.

Stranger: I'm Nathan. Nathan Steel.

Steel. She types his full name in the field and presses the search button. While the system is loading search results, she takes two ibuprofen pills. After a few minutes, a sound announces the search is done and she scrolls through the results. She gasps when she finds out he's FBI. What does an FBI agent want with her? She sends the file to her phone and decides to go tell Tony tomorrow. He'll probably be able to find out more. She changes into her pajamas and sends an SMS to Nat.

Lexi - Hey, is it ok if I train with Steve from now on? He's quite the challenge.

Nat - No problem. You'll let him know?

Lexi - Yep. Thanks

She walks out of her room and goes to Steve's. She knocks. After a few seconds he opens the door, shirtless. She quickly looks away, uncomfortable.

Steve: Hey, I wasn't expecting you. Come in.

She follows him in and he quickly puts on a tank top.

Lexi: I just wanted to know if you still wanted to train me. I spoke with Nat and she doesn't mind.

Steve: Of course, but no training on Fridays. So we'll meet up at 8 Saturday morning.

Lexi: Fine by me. Thank you.

She smiles at him.

Steve: My pleasure.

She's surprised that he doesn't ask how she's feeling, but she is thankful he doesn't.

Lexi: I'll see you tomorrow.

Steve: For sure.

She leaves the room and closes his door. She sees Bucky's door is open and decides to go apologize for her behavior earlier. She knocks on the door frame and he comes out of the bathroom, toothbrush in mouth. He waves at her, beckoning her to come in. She walks in, closes the door and sits on his bed, waiting for him to finish brushing his teeth. After a few seconds he walks in with a soft smile. 

Bucky: Hey, I thought you were sleeping.

Lexi: Yeah, I just woke up. I wanted to talk...

He sits beside her on the bed.

Lexi: I'm sorry Bucky... For snapping at you earlier. I didn't want to be rude and you don't deserve to be talked that way. I just needed to be alone...

Bucky: Hey, don't worry about it. I totally understand... Do you want to talk about it now?

She hesitates before taking a deep breath.

Lexi: I remember what happened and have been struggling about it. I found out this afternoon that they were all dead. The men who... you know. Nat and Clint killed them trying to get to me when you came to rescue me.

He frowns, processing what she's telling him.

Lexi: I'm glad they're dead, but I was kind of hoping to take care of them myself. Anyway, that's why I've been having nightmares and why I have been distancing myself.

He takes her in his arms and she leans into him. He kisses the top of her head.

Bucky: Thank you for telling me. I want you to know that I'm here for you. If I could take all your pain, I would.

Lexi: I'm sorry it took so long for me to tell you... I didn't want you to see how much I'm broken and I knew you went through a lot, I didn't want to add to your worries.

He pulls away and lifts her chin up to make her look at him.

Bucky: Hey, listen to me carefully. You are far from broken and I never want you to feel like that again. You can come to me with anything. I will never judge you and you are not a burden to me. Understood?

She nods, holding back tears of relief. He hugs her tightly.

Lexi: Thank you.

Bucky: Anytime doll.

She pulls away and stands up. She walks to the door and he follows her.

Lexi: I don't want to leave, but we both should go back to bed. We have a big party tomorrow evening and I need to go talk to Tony in the morning about that Nathan guy.

Bucky: What about him?

Lexi: I found the note from the bar in my purse and decided to do a quick search in the S.H.I.E.L.D database. Turns out he's FBI.

Bucky: What? Do you think it's a coincidence?

Lexi: I doubt it. I have no idea what the FBI wants with me though. Anyway, I thought that Tony could find more information than I was able to find, so I'll go ask him tomorrow morning.

Bucky: Keep me posted.

Lexi: I will. Good night Bucky.

Bucky: Good night doll.

She walks back to her room and hops under the covers. She yawns and turns off the lamp before quickly falling asleep.