Misguided Ghosts {A Bucky Barnes fanfic}

Chapter Twelve

I had just gotten word that Steve was killed in action, and I'm sitting in my tent sobbing while the other nurses are trying to calm me down. I finally start to quiet my wails by taking deep breaths. One of the nurses hands me a cloth to wipe my tears. Suddenly I can hear shouts, and people running out of their tents.
"What's going on?" I ask. I stand up from the cot, and walk towards the hoard of people applauding. I can hear Colonel Phillips talking, and I finally push my way to the front. I gasp when I see Steve and Bucky.
"Hey let's hear it for Captain America," Bucky announces as the crowd starts cheering. As soon as Steve turns away from Bucky, his smile fades away into a frown. Of all times I've wished to know what's going through Bucky's mind, this is when I wanted to know the most. I push my way over to Bucky, and he turns back to look at me. He has to do a double take before he picks me up in a hug. He nuzzles his face in the crook of my neck, and spins me around.
"I thought I lost you," I whisper, tears swelling in my eyes. He places my feet on the ground, and I look up into those gorgeous blue eyes I thought I'd never see again.
"Are you hurt? Do you need medical attention? I can administer it to you," I state with a chuckle.
"I probably need to be cleaned up," he says, laughing as well. I smile, taking his hand and leading him towards my tent. As soon as we're away from the crowd, Bucky spins me around to face him. He puts one hand on the back of my neck, and the other on my waist to pull me closer to him. His lips meet mine, and I put my hands on both sides of his face. Butterflies swarm in my stomach, and I feel at peace again. He breaks the kiss, and presses his forehead against mine.
"I've missed you," he whispers before pecking my lips again. "So much." I hum in response as I rub my nose against his.
"Rose," a voice says, shaking me awake. I don't want to wake up from this memory. I had him with me, and I didn't want to lose him. My eyes open to peer into Bucky's, but they aren't the same from my memory. I sit up slowly, examining my surroundings. I don't remember falling asleep on the couch. How long was I out?
"What?" I ask groggily.
"Someone's at your door," he whispers. I stand from the couch, and walk towards my front door. I yawn as I glance through the peephole, and gasp as I try to unlock the door.
"Coulson!" I shout when I open it. He smiles with a nod of his head.
"Can I come in?" He asks and I nod.
"Please do," I state. He walks in and I guide him into the living room. I motion for him to sit on the couch next to me, and he does. Bucky walks out of the kitchen with a poptart in his mouth, but stops when he sees Coulson next to me. I'm quick to stand, and walk up to him. I grab his right arm, and rub his back soothingly. I feel him relax, and walk him over to the armchair across from us.
"Bucky this is my friend Phil Coulson, Phil this is Bucky Barnes," I introduce them. Phil nods, knowing exactly who he is and what he means to me. I go back to my previous spot on the couch next to Coulson, and smile.
"I can't believe you're alive. I mean it's not that much of a surprise because I always had a feeling you were okay, but I'm just so happy to see you're still with us," I say. "Anyways why are you here?"
"We need help recovering all of our SHIELD bases back from HYDRA," he explained.
"Who's we?"
"A handful of my best agents-"
"Are you sure you can trust them?" I questioned before he could continue.
"Yes. I also have Barton, Romanoff, Stark, and Rogers on board," he informed me.
"No Thor?"
"We're working on that."
"And Banner?" I asked.
"We're working on that as well." I nod, contemplating everything. I glance over at Bucky, and come to my answer.
"I'll do it on one condition," I state.
"Alright."
"Bucky comes along to help," I say while looking over at him. He looks totally uncomfortable with what I just said.
"Excuse us for a moment," I whisper to Coulson before dragging Bucky into the kitchen with me.
"Please come with me," I begged.
"I don't know, Rose," he replied with a sigh.
"The best way to defeat HYDRA is to have someone working with us who knows HYDRA. You're the only one who can do that, Buck." He just stares at me with worried eyes.
"You trust me don't you?" I asked.
"Yes," he whispered after a long period of silence.
"Then trust me on this. The world needs you. I need you too," I said, deeply gazing into his blue cosmos. It was the cheesiest line I've ever said, but it seemed to work. He nodded, and I smiled.
"Yes?"
"Yes." I walked back out to Coulson, and nodded.
"We're in," I told him.
"Alright. I'll have someone pick you up tomorrow, and take you to Stark Tower," he said, standing and walking towards the door.
"Okay see you tomorrow," I said before I closed the door. I sighed, and was suddenly very nervous. I guess we'll just have to wait for tomorrow.
*******
Bucky and I were waiting in my apartment for the jet to pick us up.
"Are you okay?" Bucky asked.
"Yeah. Totally fine," I said, putting a smile on my face.
"You're lying," he stated with a smirk. I sighed, and shook my head. Luckily the jet landed on the roof them, saving me from the conversation.
"Alright let's go," I told him, grabbing my bag and leading Bucky to the roof. We approach the jet, and the back opens so we can climb in. Maria is piloting with another agent.
"Hey Rose," she greets with a smile.
"Hi," I reply. Bucky's nervous; I can sense it.
'Why is he here?' I hear Maria think.
'He's here to help us. I promise.' I hear her sigh, but my attention quickly turns back to Bucky.
"You okay?" I whisper to him.
"I don't know," he whispers back. I nod, and try to settle back into my seat.
We reach Stark Tower a lot quicker than I expected. Bucky and I walked into the lobby to be greeted by Pepper. I walked up to hug her, and Bucky nodded awkwardly.
"Let me show you two to your rooms," she said with a smile, guiding us to the elevator. The ride up to the penthouse was silent until we stepped off.
"Rose your room is right here, and Bucky yours is across from it right here," Pepper said, motioning to each door as she spoke. "Make yourselves at home. The others are on the party deck a few floors below you. Rose, I trust you know how to get there."
"Yes. Thank you Pepper," I said with a smile.
"No problem. Call for me if you need anything," she replied before stepping on the elevator and disappearing. I opened my door, and entered my room. It was extremely nice, almost too nice. A kingsized bed, a walk-in closet, and my own bathroom. The furniture in the room just screamed Stark. Everything was very modern and expensive looking. I placed my bag at the foot of the massive bed before walking over to the huge window. I heard footsteps approach my room, and turned around to face Bucky.
"Should we go down and meet everyone?" I asked, walking past him and towards the elevator. I turned around, and noticed he wasn't following causing my smile to melt into a frown.
"Bucky, you can trust these people," I assured him. He seemed hesitant at first, but agreed to meet them.
The elevator doors opened, revealing the spacious room and the Avengers. Well most of them. Tony, Clint, Natasha, and Steve turned around to face the two of us. I knew Bucky was extremely nervous, so I grasped his hand behind my back and rubbed my thumb across his knuckles.
"Hey guys!" I greeted with a smile.
"Hey! Glad to see you got here safely," Natasha said.
"You guys know Bucky," I said looking back at him. I caught Steve's gaze, and noticed he didn't seem too happy.
"Rose, could I have a word with you?" Steve asked sternly. As I started to walk away with Steve, Bucky reluctantly let to of my hand. I followed Steve outside onto the terrace, reluctantly meeting his angered gaze.
"So how long have you been in contact with Bucky?"
"I don't know. A week maybe?" I replied, chewing on my bottom lip nervously.
"Why wouldn't you tell me?"
"Steve I-"
"Why would you keep something like this from me?" He interrupted.
"Steve listen to me! I knew it would overwhelm him. I needed to give him time to trust me. I didn't do this for my personal gain, or for yours. I did it for Bucky," I explained. The two of us remained silent until I sighed.
"Would it make you feel better if I gave you two a moment to talk?" Steve nodded.
"Alright I'll talk to him." We walked back inside, and I sat down next to Bucky on the couch.
"Steve would like to talk to you for a minute. Are you comfortable with that?" I whispered to him.
"Will you come with me?" He asked, his blue eyes pleading. I glanced over at Steve, and sighed deeply.
"I think it's best if I stay in here," I told him and he nodded. "You'll be okay." I patted his knee before he stood, and walked with Steve outside.
I walked over to the bar where Tony and Natasha were standing, and sat down on a stool.
"May I have a drink please?" I breathed out. Tony nodded and poured me a glass of the liquid.
"Did he chew you out?" Nat questioned, and I nodded as I took a swig of the alcohol that burned my throat as it went down.
"You don't know just how bad I wish I could get drunk," I muttered, lifting the glass to my lips and finishing it off.
"Well you shouldn't be. We have a mission to accomplish," Clint stated, grabbing the glass out of my hand. I rolled my multi-colored eyes, and hopped down from the stool. Bucky and Steve walked in then, and I walked up to Bucky.
"How'd it go?" I questioned.
"Good. I guess. I still don't remember him," he told me. I gave him a weak smile as we walked back over to the group.
That night, Bucky was the first to go to bed while the five of us sat around the lounge.
"I wish I could do something to bring his memory back," I sighed out after a long period of silence.
"Well you're a mind reader. Can't you just bring back those memories?" Tony asked.
"No he's been brainwashed. It's much more complicated," Steve spoke up.
"Steve's right, but this isn't the brainwashing we think it is. The technology HYDRA used created a huge mind block. The memories aren't gone because I've felt them, but I haven't been able to break through the block," I explained.
"Have you tried?" Tony asked.
"No. I'm not sure I have the energy to," I said.
"Well there's no harm in trying," Nat commented, earning a weak laugh from me.
"There's harm for me, but I'd still be willing to try it."
"Then you should rest. You'll need all your energy for that," Steve put in and I nodded.
"Well goodnight guys. See you in the morning," I called over my shoulder as I entered the elevator.
As I walked out, and down the hall towards my room, I quietly peaked my head into Bucky's room. The lamp on the bedside table emitted a soft golden glow around the darkened room, Bucky was laying on his huge bed asleep on his back with his metal arm draped over his eyes lazily. As I fully entered his room, I noticed he didn't have a shirt on, and he was wearing the navy blue sweatpants I bought him. I tiptoed over to him, draped the black throw blanket over him, and brushed some hair away from his face.
"I'll fix you, Buchanan. I promise," I whispered before turning off the light.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
I don't feel like I'm portraying Bucky like I should be, but it's too late to change it now. Anyways, thank you thank you for all the reads!! It still amazes me how many people like this story. Comment, vote, share!
Madie xx