The Siren (Bucky Barnes x OC)

Part 9 - A Song of Falling

Grief is different for everybody. Everybody goes through it in their own way, in their own time. Some scream their hurt to the world, others scream it within themselves, and some, keep it so closely locked up in their heart that no one can hear them. Some take a day to move on, others take a year or two, and some never do, changing themselves for all eternity.

Sorrow drips like honey from the heart. Slow and suffocating. It pools at your feet making you fall faster than you can catch yourself causing more damage and hurt; unless someone can catch you, unless you allow yourself to pulled back onto your feet, unless you have the patience to wait for the honey to clear giving you a bench top to build a great many things upon.

Maya lay awake on her bed in the middle of the night. Blank eyes staring at the ceiling. Images of her families remains flashing through her mind. Sleep was a lost friend to her as tears continued to stream down each side of her face. Grief and sorrow becoming closest friends, holding her hands and caressing her face.

Knowing she couldn't wallow in her sorrow for the entire night, Maya went and knocked on Wanda's bedroom door, which was further down the hallway. The door swung open onto an empty room. Pacing back and forth in front of Wanda's vacant room, she weighed up her options. One, go back to her room to be trapped again by memories; or two, knock on Bucky's door.

Cursing under her breath, Maya walked back towards her room and towards the door opposite her own. Wiping away any remaining tear marks, she cautiously knocked on the door twice. A faint grumble sounded from the other side. Maya opened the door and stepped into a pitch black room. She froze.

Bucky sat up in bed to see who knocked at this ungodly hour. He could roughly make out long hair and his red shirt in the dark. Maya stood utterly still. Without thought he jumped out of bed reaching for the blind and hefted it up. Moonlight flooded the room, chasing away the suffocating hands of the shadows.

"You okay?" he asked in a husky voice. She didn't move an inch. "Maya?" Bucky approached her slowly, eyes full of worry. She remained rooted to the spot like an old oak tree. "Maya, look at me." He placed his hands on either side of her face, capturing her attention. "Are you okay?" he asked again when she finally glanced up at him.

"No." Her voice cracked, a new set of tears trying to make themselves known.
Without a word Bucky folded Maya into his arms, placing her head against his chest. After a moment, Maya wrapped her own arms around him, tears now slowly dripping onto Bucky's bare chest.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he questioned, soothingly stroking her hair. She shook her head slightly. Bucky squeezed her tighter, then draw back, placing a light kiss atop her forehead.

"Can I stay?" Maya looked at him with tear glistened eyes. "I don't want to be alone." Bucky nodded in response. "Thanks," she said with a tight smile. "I'm happy to take the floor."

"I've been where you are, still am really. When you say 'I don't want to be alone', I know exactly what you mean," he whispered into the few inches of air between them, his smile soft. "I don't mind sharing."

 Silently, the both of them crawled into Bucky's bed. The smell of fresh Balsam pine, musk and a slight tang of metal engulfed Maya's senses. Each of them took opposite sides of the bed, not daring to touch one another. The comfort of having someone there was all they needed, the comfort of not feeling so alone in their grief, the comfort of knowing that if either were to fall someone was there to catch them. 

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Maya woke bleary eyed in the morning sunlight and to the sound of Bucky's soft snoring. For the first time since being kidnapped by HYDRA she hadn't had a single nightmare. She hadn't woken up in a cold sweat, or with the feeling of dirt, grime and blood covering her. She had woken up almost, peacefully. It was a welcomed change.