The winter always comes

Chapter V

"What? What did Tony do?" Bucky asks as he comes down the hall, putting his phone in his jeans pocket. “Did I miss something?”

"Nothing, we were talking about the mess you made the other day" I'm lying, I can't tell him like that... oh hi Bucky, we were talking about the fact that Tony Stark sent me a letter, yes him, the one you talked about bad until five minutes ago...Well, it doesn't sound very good "Now I'm going to my room, the pain in my rib has started again...I'll see if I can find a distraction"

"Wait, eat something! You've been fighting all day, at least have something for dinner!" Sam tells me as he puts a bit of everything on the table on my plate

"Sam's right, have something" Steve encourages me, passing me the plate

"Come on guys, I'm not a child, then I really have to go, the rib is starting to feel bad again" I lie, then I smile at Steve and Sam and throw another punch winking at Bucky, then I run to my room and slam the door behind me. I throw myself into bed, I curse because I forgot about the fractured rib and I hit it causing a pang, then I settle down and open the letter delicately, the anxiety attacks me more and more when I take the sheet of paper from the envelope with the stamp:

Hey Darling,
How's the rib going? The terrorists beat you up, didn't they? Every time I entrust you with an important mission you come home with something broken, is it possible? You managed, however, to eliminate most of the terrorist cell, well done, but next time make sure you stay with Barnes...
As I think you understand, I didn't write you a letter about this, otherwise I would have called you or even told you nothing. I wanted to talk to you about the evening you invited me to, I'm sorry but I don't think I'll be able to come, I have business to take care of with the government .
If I were you, however, I would wear that short black dress of yours with the lace bodice, all men will fall at your feet, check your closet  ;)
kiss Kiss
Tony Stark

I had to imagine it would go like this, after all, he is Tony Stark, he has his duties and his pleasures, I'm just...me, in his eyes a little girl playing at being a superhero. However, I decide to go and look in the wardrobe for the dress he mentioned, I don't remember ever having had a dress like that... I open the wardrobe doors and immediately see a short black leather dress facing me with the lace corset, attached to the hanger there is a post-it with written in beautiful calligraphy:
From Tony♡
My goodness...how cute was that! Did he really buy me this gorgeous dress for the evening at the pub to apologize for her absence at the evening? I can't help but press my phone and text him to thank him, even if I know for a fact that he won't reply, he often does this, he reads the message and doesn't reply, but when he does this for him it's like saying yes or having understood the concept.

👤: Tony🥂
      last access 05:42 pm

hey Tony, thanks
for the dress...you
didn't have to!
08:45 pm

Don't worry, if you
can't come, you'll come
next time just in case
08:45 pm

I throw my cell phone on the bed with the ringer on full blast and stand at the window looking at the night sky, hoping that star will look at me now that I'm trying to observe it... If it wasn't obvious enough already, I'm not talking about stars. I hear a knock on the half-open bedroom door and the tall, muscular figure of Bucky appears in my room with a plate full of food.

"Hey...I brought you some things to eat" He says, placing the plate on the desk, joining me at the window

"Thanks, but I'm not hungry, really, I just want the rib pain to stop" I say touching the red and bruised part of my torso

"Can I ask you something?"

"sure, just tell me"

"Are you seeing someone?" the blood in my veins freezes when I hear those words and I instinctively move away from the window

"I...no no, why?" I don't know how to answer except in this way, with Tony the situation is very strange...we are certainly not a couple though and we aren't even seeing each other

"Well...a mysterious letter that made you leave the table and the other night you were talking to a boy...I connected the dots"

"Would it bother you? Even if it did?" I ask riskily, from here I can understand MANY things

"No no, absolutely not" he tells me laughing, yes, I understood the message clearly, he couldn't care less about me as a possible partner... in that sense "But, if by chance you were with someone, Please not with Stark, that's all I ask of you."

"Ah, why not?" I ask, swallowing my saliva, the tension is choking me, could he has recognized him the other night by his voice? I notice that he looks at me askance as if he were thinking of me and Tony together, so I try to save myself at the last minute "You know, he and I have been friends for a long time, I would like to understand why you advise him so much"

"You know well that he's a whoremonger, I wouldn't want to see you suffer for him, he can be a real bastard...in love" 

"Do you think?" I blurt out in pain, fucking, gigantic mistake

"Yes, I think so, and I also think that you are hiding something from me" he looks at me smiling and then winks at me "But I think I will find out who this mysterious boy is in a few days at your evening"

"What are you implying? Did you listen to me during the phone call?" rhetorical question, obviously he listened to my chat with Tony at the window

"I listened enough to understand that you called him to listen to you at the pub" he tells me then goes towards the door with his back to me and leaves giggling. What a piece of shit...but I think he won't be happy to see that no one will be there...he will definitely be happier than if he sees Tony...My phone vibrates and I hear a notification coming in, as they say, speaking of the devil you grow horns.

👤: Tony🥂
       online

hey Tony, thanks
for the dress...you
didn't have to!
08:45 pm

Don't worry, if you
can't come, you'll come
next time just in case
08:45 pm

instead I had to...
a beautiful dress for
an even more beautiful girl
09:20 pm

I'll try to do everything
I can to finish early
and come see you
darling, I promise 
09:21 pm

My god how cute was that! I can't believe Bucky's words, even though I know they are true... I don't understand how a man like that could do those things... The fact is that I don't respond to messages, I only view them...I wouldn't know how to respond to them...this type of message doesn't have a (verbal) response! I put the phone on the bedside table and start my favorite playlist, I hide his letter in the drawers of my desk, I don't want it to be found by Bucky, Sam or Steve...After doing all this I throw myself on the bed and with the notes of  sex, money, feelings die I fall asleep strangely early, if the eternal doubt in my head has this effect on me, it's a good thing.