Leave Me Bleeding [Winter Soldier] I

Not Ready [Chapter 29]

                Bucky came out of the shower with the white towel wrapped around his hips. When he spotted her, his eyes widened. "I thought you had left, I'm sorry... I thought..."

              "I just went to grab the paper," she replied, holding it up to show him, but making sure to cover the headline. She couldn't help but laugh; she blushed wildly and she smiled at him. Though there was constant pain in his eyes, it seemed to disappear slightly when he smiled; he would be looking right at her, and he would smile, making everything seem like some distant nightmare. But once they left the room, that nightmare would begin again.

                He grabbed his clothing, folded neatly upon the top of the dresser. He paused to study her upon the bed, smiling up at him. Shaking his head, he apologized again. "I'm so sorry." 

                 "It's okay," she replied, "really."

                 He disappeared into the bathroom again, and Ophelia found herself nibbling her lip nervously. Embarrassed ever so slightly, she wished she had seen his clothes there and made her presence known to him sooner. After a few minutes, Bucky dressing in the bathroom, she told herself that there was no reason to be embarrassed. They shared so much, the two of them, it was so much different than intimacy that they had shared. She had regained her cool when Bucky exited, his hair messy and looking black while still wet. 

                "Bucky," she said carefully. 

                "Yeah?" He asked quietly, clearly over what had just happened.

                "I know where Steve is."

                Bucky was holding his shirt, he turned and looked at her with wide eyes. Swallowing, he nodded. "Where?"

                She wondered how he would take it, but then realized that he would just be glad that he is alive. "The hospital."

                Bucky closed his eyes and sighed; he had hurt the two people he cared about in this world, and he couldn't undo the damage. What he didn't seem to realize is that neither Ophelia nor Steve cared about that; he was alive, and he had the chance to kill both of them, but saved them instead. He had undone the damage he had caused, he just couldn't get over it in his mind. Of course, the events  at the Triskellion were not the only events that plagued him, and she had to help him slowly get over those speed bumps. 

                "He's okay," she added then, getting up off the bed and walking up to him. She wrapped her arms around his toned frame, resting her head upon his chest and breathing in the scent that made her feel safe. "I think we should go see him."

                "I can't." 

                "We could be careful," she said, sighing; even though she could walk almost fine now, she didn't want to go alone. But perhaps, as she thought about it more, it would be best if she went alone at least to the hospital. 

                Bucky thought about that, wondering how to get around it. "Could you..."

                "Go in and talk to him?" She finished for him. "Yes."

                "I can't see him." He shook his head. "I'm not... ready."

                "I can have him meet with you when he is healed...." She could feel how tense Bucky was; his muscles were tight. "Everything is going to be okay, Bucky."

                "What if he-" Bucky began to speculate.

                Ophelia stepped back, releasing Bucky. "Steve told me that his mission was to get you back. No matter what has happened, Steve will never turn his back on you. I saw the way he gave up fighting you, knowing he might be killed; he trusted that you were still in there and you were."

                "You're right." Bucky nodded, and then repeated himself, "You're right. But I can't."

                "Okay," she said at last, understanding that this wasn't going to happen. She would achieve nothing but push him away if she tried to make him do anything he deemed too much. Her eyes fell upon his lips, and then dropped to the floor. "I'll head to the hospital Steve is, what do you want me to tell him?"

                "Tell him... What you think is best." He certainly wasn't ready. "Are you okay to walk?"

                "Yes." The Super Soldier Serum in her veins helped her heal faster than your average person, though she was still limping and her ribs screamed whenever she touched them. The surface wounds would heal, but the bones would take a lot longer to set. "Promise you will stay in here, with the blinds closed?"

                "Why?" He raised an eyebrow.

                "We didn't stray far from the SHIELD headquarters, they must have suspected we are either really close, or really far," she explained her thoughts. "If anyone catches us, they won't treat us kindly."

                "Me," he said, "they won't treat me kindly."

                She sighed; he was right. "Just... stay here until I get back."

                "Okay."

                Ophelia turned towards the door, but Bucky grabbed her hand gently in his metal one. She turned as he pulled her closer gently. As he brought her in, Ophelia pressed her hands to his bare chest and smiled, looking up at him. He lowered his head and brought his lips on hers, kissing her as if it were the last time. It wasn't going to be, she knew, but she appreciated that he was worried. As she kissed back, she almost forgot where she was going, and everything seemed simpler.