An:
All mistakes are my own as usual. Enjoy all xx
They walked out of the garage and through the main lobby, up the stairs and onto the floor with their living quarters without saying a word to one another. They shot each other looks, smirks and genuine smiles. She pulled on her hoodie sleeves and fiddle with them shyly as he walked with his hands in his pockets, a boyish grin on his face.
Their joint euphoria stopped when they walked down the hallway and Bucky came out of Steve's bedroom. "Hey, I was looking for you...where ya been?"
He took in Robyn's flushed appearance, her fearful wide eyes and her messed up hair and frowned. "Out. Robyn wanted to go out."
Robyn was quick to jump in with more information. "Yes, we went for coffee."
He shot his gaze to Steve. "You took her?" Steve noticed that Bucky looked hurt by this.
Holding his eyes firm to his friend he nodded. "She asked."
Robyn peeled away from them and gestured to the stairs. "I'm going for a smoke."
Bucky, pushed past Steve towards her who just sighed and looked at his boots. "Can we talk?"
She turned, her eyes darting to Steve for the briefest second, almost scared to be near him and then back to him. "No."
"Robyn, we need to...please?"
She shook her head. "I can't, I'm sorry." She turned and half run up the stairs to the roof.
Bucky turned back to Steve his face incredulous. "What the fuck man?"
"She needs time and some space..." He still couldn't look at him.
"So that's what your giving her is it? Cosy coffee mornings." The nasty insinuating edge in his voice was unmistakable.
"Buck don't." Steve really didn't want to tell him the truth.
"Oh what is this the part where the perfect Steve Rogers tells me he's just looking out for her?"
"Yes, yes I am." He looked at him, in the eyes, properly because he felt that Bucky surely had to understand what the girl was going though. "Jesus Buck she's been through enough."
"I'm aware of what she's been through or have you forgotten who I am all of a sudden. I've been there, I was the original weapon."
"Yeah, you were, but this is different." He shook his head, dumbfounded.
"How? How is this different?"
"You know it's different, she's a girl, they messed her up in ways we can't imagine."
"Messed her up, I know!"
"God damn it she was sold by her family at 18 years old and then brainwashed, manipulated and engineered to be some, ...sexual plaything for you! That's how it's different James."
"James? Wow!" Bucky shook his head and barked an angry laugh at Steve.
"Are you even listening to me?" He was matching his best friends anger.
"Yes I am. She's a not a plaything Steve! I don't see her like that."
"It's not how you see her though, it's how she sees herself. She associates what happened to her with you Buck, come on, can't you see how hard this is for her. She scared."
"She doesn't have to be scared of me for fuck's sake, this is what I need to talk to ..."
"No, you idiot. She scared of herself. Scared she going to do something with you that she doesn't want to do because of the crap that they put in her head, scared it wont be real or be her own choice damn it."
"Why was her hair all messed up Steve? Was that her choice?"
"We took the bike Bucky." Steve had his hands on his hips, really hoping Bucky wouldn't push it any further.
"You know it's been a long time since I've wanted to punch you the face!" Bucky paced in front of him. "So no helmet then, thought you were just looking out for her, trying to keep her safe. That's not very 'Steve' of you is it." He scoffed at him and bit his bottom lip in anger. "Admit it, this isn't anything other than you trying to keep her from me. Or playing your own game, I'm not dumb I see how you look at her punk!"
"Bucky I swear to god will you stop being such a..."
"What?" Bucky took a step towards him, barely containing himself.
"An idiot, your being an idiot right now."
"I'm right aren't I?" Both men stopped moving and stared at each other, breathing hard. "Did you try something? Is that what the 'coffee' was about..." Steve looked away. "Oh my god you did, didn't you. Fucking hell Steve! Why? Why would you do that when i...Jesus fucking Christ, I asked you if you liked her, I fucking asked you!"
"Bucky nothing..."
"Shut up, you forget, I KNOW YOU!" He shouted at his best friend, the man he considered a brother. "I can read your stuck up ass like a fucking book!"
"YES! Ok!" He sighed and tried to stay calm. "I kissed her."
"I knew it. You son of a bitch!" Bucky jabbed an angry finger in Steve's direction. "You know how I feel about her, and with the beast out the way we could've had something, but no, Captain-Fucking-Perfect has to..."
"GOD I am sick of everything just having to be about you Bucky!"
"Excuse me..."
Steve's composure snapped, fed up with his friend not seeing the bigger picture, not seeing things from Robyn's point of view. "I mean you do realise that pretty much every moment of my adult life has been spent following you around and I know that you can't help it because I did all that, I followed you into the army, I invaded the Red Skull compound single handed for you, I was responsible for loosing you on that damn train and I pitched myself in the ocean because I figured I had nothing left. Then it comes back around and I'm the one who very nearly ruins the only friends and family I've ever found, for you, because of you, and then..." he had gotten closer to Bucky every sentence he had said and now he breathed hard in his face. "Then she gets a ton of torture and degrading treatment for you..." Steve swallowed and seemed to reign his anger in a little. He sighed heavily. "I'm sorry, I just..."
"I never asked you to do any of that for me Steve!"
Steve scoffed. "No, my mother did."
Bucky let out an icy laugh. "Fuck you bringing your mother into this. You don't think I think about that day huh?" He walked to Steve and pushed him in the chest sending him back a step or two. "It was the last fucking thought I had falling off that train, that I'd let her down and I wouldn't be around to look out for her stupid punk kid who couldn't find a way to stay out of fucking trouble." Bucky groaned and ran his hand over his face. "You weren't the only one you know." He smirked angrily at him. "Yeah I was on that train because of you, but I was also not drunk in a gutter somewhere because of you. Hydra fucked my life, and yeah I owe you everything for bringing me back here after everything I've done, but fucking hell Steve, your also the reason I came back, you told me you didn't like her like that ...I would never have gotten in the way Steve, never!" He threw his arms up not knowing what to say next. "But this shit..."
"I'm not walking away from her Buck."
They stared at one another again, neither wavering in icy intensity until Bucky grimaced and ran his tongue over his bottom lip before biting it. "I can see that." He grabbed his face with one hand and groaned. "God why the fuck couldn't you just of stayed a malnourished little shit."
Steve let out an involuntary chuckle. "I didn't wanna hurt ya."
"Steve I still gotta talk to her, I have to ask..."
"Come on Buck!"
"Please, I need to hear it from her ok. I will back off, I will shut up and take it ok, but I have to hear it from her." Steve nodded. "Thank you."
Steve rubbed the back of his neck and took a deep breath. "Bucky what did you and her,..do, did something happen?" He thought back to what Robyn had said about it earlier.
Bucky shook his head. "No Steve, no..." he gestured with his hand between the two of them. "If we come out of this, if our friendship is gonna come outta this, which is an if right now because I've never been so angry with you, but, we don't talk about it, ever." Steve nodded again as Bucky began to walk off towards the roof, and called to Steve as he went. "Just stay outta my face."
***
END OF CHAPTEr
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