BLACK AND WHITE | BUCKY BARNES x OC

part twenty

Bucky POV

    Sam isn't speaking, it's like someone flipped a switch in his brain and he's unable to answer me. I wave my hand in front of his face and he slowly blinks, shaking his head and then averting his gaze back to me.

    "You and Leila... soulmates." Sam utters out, his eyebrows furrowing even more than they were already.

    I nod my head slowly and lean forward, "It just happened, I'm still trying to understand it. She is too."

    "W-wait have you told Steve yet? Their wedding was months ago," Sam asks.

    Now, I'm the one that's unable to answer back, I feel like the wind is knocked out of my lungs and I can't breathe. I lift my shoulders and force myself to inhale and then exhale.

    "Not yet, that's why I've been dodging Steve's calls lately. I'm trying to find a way to break it to him."

    "So not even Leila has told him?" Sam's face contorts into a frustrated scowl. Full of disappointment.

    "No, we plan to do it together."

    Sam shakes his hand and raises his right hand, motioning it towards me. "So you're telling me that you and Steve's wife have been hanging out in secrecy and trying to find a time to tell Steve that you both can see color? I'm assuming she sees color because of you." His words are harsh and direct, making me wonder if telling him was the right thing to do.

    I trust Sam, but I think his loyalty lies with Steve the most. I've only known him since we started working with the Avengers in the past, Steve being the one who introduced us. We haven't gotten this close since Moscow. Fuck, I should have told Nat instead.

    "Sam, I know this is hard to understand. But please trust me when I say I've wanted to tell Steve the moment it happened. I just couldn't; there wasn't any way to really tell him. Plus, I just met her and didn't even think she'd be this important to me. Ever since Moscow, something changed for us." My words are coming out fast and I have to take a moment to finally breathe.

    "How could you do this? He is your best friend, Bucky. You've known him longer than any of us have known him. You and Steve go way back to when you guys were teenagers. This isn't a kind of secret you keep from him, especially when it involves his wife." Sam retorts.

    I nod in agreement and drop my head in shame. "Sam...She's the one that snapped me out of the Winter Soldier when Zemo tried to have me kill her. Something like that isn't even possible. Not for a super soldier like me; you have to have some kind of ethereal connection to do that type of shit. She was able to do that because she's my soulmate."

I flashback to that day when all I had to do was look at her and say her name and I was able to control my body. Something impossible became possible because of our soulmate connection.

"Look," Sam leans towards me and lays his right hand on my metal shoulder. "I know this is hard for you guys. It kind of makes sense why you went all Winter Soldier on the people in Moscow and then came back to America after. Leila was here and I'm assuming you wanted to make sure she was safe while we finished our mission."

I nod at his words and he drops his arm to his side, continuing, "Don't do anything you'll regret. I suggest you tell Steve sooner than later. He comes back tonight, so maybe get with Leila and find a way to tell him once he's home. He's been in the dark for too long."

"I agree, you're right. I'll stop by after this. I'm just scared that I'll get hurt in the end. I love Steve, but he's had a chance at love when he was younger... this is the first time I've felt like this my whole life."