Captain America and Bucky Barnes Imagines

97. BUCKY: Hello Darkness

"Good mornin'," Tony greets you with a small grin over his shoulder. He's recently trimmed back his goatee. You consider making a comment on the niceness of it before finding the idea of speaking much too exhausting. So you simply nod and take the cup of coffee he extends graciously towards you.

Mug curled against your chest, you turn towards the counter set with breakfast foods. Most of it is store bought—like Costco muffins and danishes— but someone's made scrambled eggs. You carefully pick up a plate and step into the line. You're very sensitive to the fact that Bucky is standing directly to your right side. The last time you saw the metal-armed man was yesterday around this time. He'd been in the gym when you went down to do some soft-core yoga. After you'd come into the room he began cursing in low grumbles before ultimately stomping angrily out of the room: slamming the door dramatically behind him.

"How, uh, are you?" You attempt to clear the lump from your throat. You hope Bucky will at least grace you with a glance this frigid morning.

Your hopes are shattered as Bucky blatantly ignores you. Fifteen seconds pass without a single reaction from him. He just keeps stacking his plate.

But then, out of no where, Bucky looks up into your face. Making contact with your foolishly hopeful eyes he coldly replies, "I was great until you showed up."

You swallow and avert your eyes from the side of his chiseled face. God, how you wish you had the backbone to scream at him for being such an ass... instead, you only retreat farther into the darkness and self-consciousness.

"Bucky!" Steve hisses not-so-discreetly. His cheeks are burning red at embarrassment for his friend's behavior.

Bucky only grunts in reply—taking his plate and stomping to the table. He'd be carrying his plate up to his room, no doubt, if not for Tony's strict "no plates upstairs" rule.

"Forgive him," Steve begins to beg your pardon on Bucky's chilly behalf.

"It's fine." You set down your plate on the nearest surface and draw the corners of your blanket back up tighter. "I'm not that hungry, after all. I think I'm just going to go back to bed."

Steve sends a strained, pitiful lip-tug your way. He nods softly while you turn to leave. You make it as far as the dark hallway leading up to the elevator before leaning against the wall with a shaky sigh. Your head rests against the plaster and you feel yourself start to fade away from sight as the blanket falls to your feet.

You're thankful for your invisibility powers as Nat waddles down the hall from the elevator next—looking somber and cold. She stops just beside you, seeming to maybe sense something awry, before stepping into the kitchen where you can hear voices inside.

"Has anyone seen Y/N?" Nat asks the group in response to their "good mornings". You grow interested at the sound of your name.

"Ask Barnes," Tony grumbles in plain annoyance.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Bucky's voice responds dryly.

"Are you still being an ass?" Nat snaps. "I thought you said you were done with that."

"Well, apparently he's not, because he just scared the poor girl away," Sam can be heard chiming in. It sounds like he's got a lot of food stuffed in his mouth.

"Knock it off, Barnes. I know we're friends, but I'm going to actually kill you if you don't start at least pretending to like her." Nat stomps farther out of ear-shot but you can still hear her grumbling Russian threats under her breath.

"It's not like she hasn't been through enough," Tony mirrors. "Poor kid lost both her parents the same age I was when I lost mine."

"Then she lost Coulson," Steve reminds the group. As if explaining to Bucky, he says, "He was practically a father to her. She was right there next to him when Loki..." He stops himself as if he can't fathom gaining the stomach to finish the thought. You're glad he doesn't. The image your damaged mind has already painted in recollection of that awful day is enough to have tears ricocheting down your cheeks.