Enemy

Part 3

When I woke up today, I found myself actually conscious about what I was going to wear. Normally, I'd put on the first thing my hand touches in the closet. Today, I was actually digging through my clothes, trying to find something nice.

I ended up choosing another dress, more casual, but at least Bucky wouldn't be able to make fun of what I was wearing. As I drove to the compound, I actually began to grow nervous. He's a handsome man, and I'm easily swooned.

When I got there, Steve was outside with Peter, probably waiting for me. As soon as I stepped out of the car I was bombarded with greetings and warnings of Bucky's appearance.

"Yes, I know Bucky's here, Steve. I invited him." I said and continued walking inside.

"Why?" Steve asked and looked at Peter who was equally as confused.

"I wanted to hear him out so we can put all of this behind us."

"Wow. Alright. I'm taking Peter downstairs for a bit to train, but then we want to know how it goes." Steve said and grabbed Peter's arm.

I turned the corner and saw Bucky sitting on the bench outside of my office. He quite literally almost took my breath away, but I was trying to stay relaxed, so I wouldn't give away how I thought of him.

"Good morning, doll." Bucky said and stood up to greet me.

"Don't call me that, Barnes." I said and didn't even look up into his eyes, but I could feel them on me.

We stepped inside and Bucky sat on the chair across from my desk. When I sat down, nothing was keeping me from staring into his eyes. Those beautiful steel blue eyes that made me feel like I was home.

"Well?" Bucky asked and could obviously tell I was drooling over him.

"Shit. Right." I said and looked away. "I wanted to hear you out."

"Really?" Bucky said and actually seemed quite shocked. "You're going to let me apologize?"

"Yes. I realized that I can't hate you for something I don't know the full story about." I respond and looked back into those dazzling eyes.

Bucky was smiling. He must have been hoping for this, because he truly looked happy that I was going to let him explain himself.

"I'm sorry, by the way." I said before he started his story. "Last night was hard for me... for obvious reasons... and I shouldn't have taken it out on you."

"Forgiven." Bucky said and continued to smile. "Where do you want me to start?"

The rest of the morning was spent with Bucky telling me a terribly sad story. I had no idea that he went through so much. Of course, I've heard it all from Steve or my mom, but I didn't quite understand how it could've been that bad.

By the end of his story, it was almost lunch time. He sat in silence as I contemplated everything he just told me. It was a lot, to say the least. I didn't even know what to say after.

"You don't have to say anything." Bucky said and looked down, it was like he could read my mind. "You wanted the story, so that's that."

"I'm sorry for what happened to you." I said and he looked up at me with sadness.

"Don't be. It's not your fault." Bucky whispered and nodded his head as if he was accepting his past. "There's one more thing."

"Alright." I responded and stared at him as he formed words.

"I'm truly sorry for what I did to... to Tony. I wish I could take it all back." He said and slouched over in his chair, putting his hands on the back of his head.

I watched him and saw how broke down he got over mentioning my dad again. I clenched my jaw, to hold back tears, and continued to listen to him.

"I know we got off on the wrong foot, and that's my fault, but I never got the chance to apologize to Tony personally. I hope you can forgive me on his behalf."

That was it. The dreaded question of forgiveness. It was a hard idea to grasp for me, because I've spent so long hating what this man had done. After hearing the story from him, I knew what I had to do.

"I do." I said and paused for a moment. "I forgive you."

"Really?"

"Yeah. You couldn't control yourself. It's not your fault."

Bucky stared at me with a surprised face. I smiled at him and noticed he was probably shocked at my forgiveness, because I wasn't planning on forgiving him anytime soon.

"Thank you, Morgan." He said and reached across the desk and took my hand in his. "You have no idea what this means for me."

"You're welcome."

The way he was looking at me was sweet. I didn't even think he was capable of being nice to me. I enjoyed the small amount of contact he made between us and felt bad when I pulled my hand away.

"Well, if that's all... I kind of have a lot of work I got to get done." I said and hated myself instantly. I didn't want him to leave, but it was the truth, I had a lot of work.

"Right. I'll see you around." Bucky said and stood up. Just before he opened the door, he turned around again. "Well, there is one thing."

"What's up?" I said and continued to stare at my computer screen.

"I was hoping you'd forgive me because there's something I've been meaning to ask you." Bucky said and it made me look at him. Oh god. What could he possibly need?

"What is it?"

"Would you like to go on a date with me?"