Are You In or Are You Out?

Part 20

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."