James Bucky Barnes, the former soldier, doesn't think he's got any gentleness left in him. But Grace Juniper Cunningham, the former child prodigy, strongly disagrees.
;
"𝘐 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘐 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯."
"𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴�...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Naturally, Bucky wasn't okay with me leaving on my own. He stepped in front of me. "Seriously, doll. Call Steve. Call Romanoff."
"Nat's getting tired of listening to how much I hate you."
He inhaled sharply. "Let me walk you. And let me wrap your ankle too. I don't want you to make it worse."
I blinked thickly, tears coming back.
"Grace—" he continued when I didn't reply, trying to pull it together. "Please."
"It's broad daylight," I said. "And the Tower is full of people. They're not gonna do anything right now. And Tony put in extra security mechanisms, and—"
"I know," he said. "I know all that. It's just that when I think about you on the elevator by yourself, I get this pit in my stomach, and I feel like I'm—dying or something."
He was opening up. The way he was looking at me, tired and earnest, was the most vulnerable I'd ever seen him. He was asking me to let him protect me again. But it was different now. I'd been so disappointed, over and over. He was breaking his own heart.
"You should talk to your therapist about that," I said.
"We've only got one hour a week, doll, I haven't gotten around to it."
I snorted, and then the tension was gone for now. "Whatever. I'm not gonna stop you from walking with me. I mean, I physically couldn't."
"Thanks, doll," he muttered. He stepped aside so I could leave, and followed behind me into the hallway.
"Do you need help walking?" he asked. "I can—"
"No," I told him. "No touching. Your rule."
I started limping pointedly. It really didn't hurt too terribly, but I was bitter.
"How bad does it hurt? Really."
"I can't make it," I said, throwing myself at the wall dramatically to support myself.
"Grace. I'm serious. Tell me if it actually hurts."
He reached out to me, but I moved away, walking normally. "If you're gonna make rules about not touching me, then follow them. Don't touch me. I can walk fine."
"Fine."
We kept walking in silence, unnaturally far apart from each other. I snuck a glance at him as we stepped off the elevator to see his jaw tight, his shoulders tense.
