Immortal (Bucky Barnes & Steve Rogers x Reader)

3. He Came Back

2011 (66 years later).

As you walk through the doors into the familiar room, you're once again greeted by Peggy's smile. Her eyes light up every time she sees you. You visit your best friend in the hospice as least once a week, but you try and see her as much as you can. You two stayed best friends all this time, going on numerous adventures over the years. You were so similar, you liked the same things, had the same sense of humour, the same style. However, there was one difference between you, and it was quite a big one...Peggy was now an elderly lady, with grey hair and wrinkled skin, she looked as though if you touched her, she'd shatter into a thousand pieces. Yet you, you still looked identical to the you that was friends with Bucky and Steve all those years ago. You hadn't aged a day, your hair still the same vibrant colour, your skin not showing any sign of old age. You hadn't changed in even the slightest way. Peggy of course knew why this was, you'd trusted her with your biggest secret, and she'd accepted you for who you were, it didn't matter to her that you were different. She'd kept your secret safe, never telling a soul. Of course, this meant you had to disappear from everyone else's lives, no one else could know what you were, and if they caught on to you not ageing questions would be asked.

As always you were excited to visit her, however today you also felt nervous. Today's different to all the other times, there was something you two desperately need to talk about. Steve's alive.

You sit down in the cream-coloured chair positioned beside her bed.
'Hey, my gorgeous lady', you smile at her. She smiles back, although you can see the hint of sadness in her eyes, from this you know she's already seen Steve.
'Have you seen him yet?', you ask anyway, instantly turning the conversation to him.
'Yes, he came by yesterday', she answers. You look down, feeling the pain in your chest that, despite him being back, you knew you wouldn't be able to see him.
'He asked about you...', she adds, wanting so badly for you to reunite with him.
'And...', you say, hoping that she hasn't told him what she promised to keep between the two of you,
'And I told him that I didn't know where you were, that you left soon after he did', she sighs, clearly unhappy that she had to lie to him. You nod,
'Thank you, Pegs', you look at her sadly, knowing how hard it must've been for her to see him again.
'Y/N, he misses you; you can finally see him again and you'd rather run from him. Why are you so afraid?', she asks, a serious tone in her voice,
'Because, unlike you, I didn't grow old, I'm still the same age as I was when he last saw me. He can't know what I am...',
'Why not? Y/N, you mean the world to him, if he knew you were alive and well-',
'No Peggy', you cut her off, 'He can't know, you can't tell him. It's better he thinks I'm somewhere else, old and grey, maybe even dead.' you add, being stern with her to make sure she understands.
'He needs you', she says quietly,
'He doesn't, not anymore.' you reply, hurting even more. You and Peggy look at each other, both upset and agitated by the circumstances. You hate having to be harsh with her, but you need to get the point across. You take a deep breath, and you take her hand, holding it gently in yours,
'Pegs, you've been my best friend for almost 70 years, I trusted you with my biggest secret, just because you understood and stood by me, doesn't mean he will...', you squeeze her hand gently, in fear that you'll hurt her. The room stays silent as she doesn't know what to say to you. After a couple minutes you decide to break the silence to tell her something you know she won't want to hear,
'Peggy... I'm leaving', a shocked expression comes over her face and you instantly feel so guilty,
'I'm going to London, I can't stay in New York, not now that Steve's back', you try to explain before she gets too worked up.
'But what about me? All I have to look forward to is seeing you every week', her voice cracks as you see glossy tears form in her eyes.
'You have Steve now, and I'll still call you almost every day, and if anything happens, I'll be right back here as soon as possible', you're trying your best to reassure her that it'll be ok, but the tears are already falling down her cheeks.
'I'll miss you', her delicate voice speaks, from this you know she understands why you're leaving, and she's not about to argue against it as she knows she won't win. You notice your cheeks are wet, and some of your own tears have fallen down your face. You wipe them away with your sleeve,
'I'll miss you too'.

It's been a few days since Steve visited Peggy, you've packed your bags and abandoned your New York apartment, desperate to get away from the returned soldier. You called Peggy every day, staying on the phone for hours as she begged for you to come back. It hurt how much you being away was affecting her, but you knew she wasn't alone, and that she'd be ok, she'd get used to you being away soon enough.

Meanwhile, Steve was trying to adjust to the new world he'd woken up in. He came back and everything and everyone he knew and loved were gone, everyone but Peggy. He found that putting his energy into boxing helps him escape, he is able to punch his way out of his thoughts, letting his anger flow through his hands and into the sand-filled bag in front of him. As he pummels the bag, oblivious to what is going on around him, a voice spoke,
'Something on your mind, Cap?'. Steve stops punching and looks up to see Nick Fury, a leader of the organisation S.H.I.E.L.D. Steve chooses not to reply, he has everything on his mind, and he's not about to share it with a man he had only met a week or so prior.
'Did you go see her?', Fury adds, quite clearly talking about Peggy.
'Yeah', Steve finally speaks.
'How was it?', Fury continued the conversation, walking closer to where Steve was training. Steve once again didn't reply, now sat on one of the benches positioned next to the punch bags, his attention was on the protective wrapping on his hands. He unravels it and takes it off, implying that today's training session was over. Fury's determined to talk more,
'Well, did she tell you anything about Y/N?'. This turns Steve's attention immediately; he looks up at Fury wondering what he could possibly have to say about you.
'Forgive me for being insensitive Cap... We just can't seem to figure out what happened to them', Fury says as he looks back down at Steve, 'All we know is that they stayed with Agent Carter for around two years after you went into the ice, and then they just disappeared...without a trace.' Fury continues. Steve could feel his emotions building up, he doesn't want to think about you, it hurts him too much. He hoped, when he found out Peggy was still alive, that you would be as well, but Peggy had told him that she didn't know where you were, that no one had seen you in over 60 years, and that he shouldn't get his hopes up.
'They went and lived their life, just like Peggy,' Steve says, trying to hide his pain in his voice.
'We don't believe that... we suspect that Agent Carter knows more that she's told us, we think she's been hiding something', Fury replies.
'If she did, she would've told me, Y/N was my best friend.' Steve says as he stands up and gathers his belongings. It's clear to Fury that Steve's done with their talk, and he decides not to ask any more questions. Steve makes his way past him and out of the gym, his thoughts running with possibilities about what could've happened to you, or where you could be.