The Rose (Dark!Stucky x OC)

Chapter XIII

The two men sat in the office trying to figure out how to handle the situation with Stark. If they handled this the wrong way it would end badly for a lot of people.

"Maybe we should hide her?" Steve put out. Bucky shook his head and sighed.

"Stark knows she exists. If we hide her it'll just provoke trouble."

"But we can't let him see her, can we? He'll try to kill her."

"Not necessarily. Stark is against getting civilians involved just as much as we are." As much as Bucky didn't want Vivian around that man, he knew there was no getting around this. 

"Then what does he want with her?" A silence fell across the men while they pondered.

A knock interrupted their thoughts followed by a quiet voice.

"It's Vivian," she said while opening the door. She smiled tiredly at the men and entered the office.

"How are you feeling, doll?" Bucky asked, looking at her disheveled self in amusement. A light blush covered her cheeks and she sat on the couch with Steve.

"I'm alright. My throat still hurts a lot." Steve brushed her hair out of her face and the silence once again fell upon them for a few moments. Bucky was focused on something, completely lost in thought.

"Doll..." Bucky began, "do you know how to shoot a gun?" The question shocked both of the people on the loveseat.

"Bucky, do you think that's a good idea?" Steve asked, a little exasperated. Bucky just looked at Vivian, waiting for her answer. She slowly shook her head.

"If we have to meet Stark, and she has to as well, the least we need to do is make sure she can defend herself." Steve looked doubtful at the presentation, but agreed. 

"We can head down there now, if that's okay with you." Vivian nodded hesitantly.

"Who's Stark?" Vivian asked.

"We'll explain on the way to the range." Steve assured her.

~~~~

Once at the range, the men equipped and helped her equip with her own gun, earmuffs, and goggles. Her heart was beating out of her chest. Never once in her life had she had to fire a gun.

"Darling, you are going to want to aim at the target down the line, you see? What you're going to do is make sure your safety is off, aim using both eyes, shoot, and follow through." Steve tried his best to encourage her and teach her. It was obvious she was nervous. Her hands fumbled trying to get the safety to click. Bucky pursed his lips and put a hand on her shoulder, prompting her to look at him.

"Doll, you are going to be alright. This is all just precaution and safety. The only thing you have to worry about is staying calm." She nodded at him and raised her gun to aim at the target. Steve heard her take a breath in and hold it, and even though he had told her to use both eyes, she closed one eye instinctively. Vivian fired the gun, reeled back, and let her breath go. When she looked to see where she'd hit, she saw the bullet hole in the target. However, it was very much off the mark. Steve chuckled.

"That was your first shot, no?" She nodded. "I'm very impressed you even hit the target paper. We've had trainees not even get that far until a week into training." Vivian smiled at the affirmation, but the nerves still racked her body. Her breathing was a bit labored and it was hard to tell if her head was spinning, or the room was. Slowly, she put the gun down and sat on the floor of the range. With worry written all over their faces, the men kneeled down to her.

"Hey, hey, what's going on?" Steve started, his voice calm and quiet. She shook her head and looked away from them.

"Doll, can you hear me?" Bucky said softly, to which she nodded slightly. He hummed. "You need to slow down. Take deep breaths. Just like that." He guided her into calming down. "Good girl."

The woman took in a shaky breath.

"Why does Stark want me?" Bucky was a little surprised at the question, but sympathetic nonetheless.

"We don't know, sweetheart. But it will all be okay. Nothing is going to hurt you." Steve tried to reassure her.

"Jay is dead." She suddenly said. It was obvious her brain was now fully comprehending what was really going on and she didn't know how to process it. "He tortured me, and now he's dead." Guilt filled Bucky's chest. Nothing had hurt him emotionally in a long time, but seeing her so broken from something he did killed.

"It's okay. You're safe. You're okay." Steve spoke rhythmically, finally deciding to pick her up. "We're going to go back to the office, alright? It's time to take your pain meds anyway." She nodded and rested her head on his chest while the three of them made their way to the office once again.