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.
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"𝘐 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘐 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯."
"𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴�...
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I slept so soundly that I was disoriented when I woke up. I felt a surge of adrenaline, but it gave way to relief almost immediately when I realized where I was. In my bed. My bed meant that Grace was here. Grace was alive. Grace was laying on my chest.
She stirred, and that made me happy because I wanted her to wake up and talk to me. Then she nuzzled her cheek into my chest and settled back into sleep, and that made me happy too.
Some unconscious part of me must have known that she was with me, since I didn't wake up thinking she was dead.
I was so fucking tired of feeling destroyed by her. I'd try to forget about her all day, but I'd still have to watch her die again at night. Dr. Raynor said I needed to process her death still, even if it never really happened. She was probably right. But Grace's presence was doing that work for me right now.
I'd been worrying about her, too, even more than I used to. How she'd been sleeping, if she'd felt safe. She'd ridden the subway here, but I wondered if she'd ever drink tea again.
When she woke up again, it was to her phone ringing. She rolled off of me to answer it, blinking thickly, voice adorably croaky as she answered "Hello?"
"Did you just wake up?" I heard Natasha say on the other end. "It's noon."
"It's the weekend," Grace argued, rubbing her eye with the back of her hand, propping a pillow against the headboard and leaning back angelically. She reached over and interlaced her hand with mine idly.
"Are you with Barnes?" Natasha asked. "Clint owes me money if you are."
"Yeah. How'd you know? He just got back last night."
"You never relax otherwise. No way would either of you sleep in this long on your own."
"Oh."
"Anyway, I need to talk to you. Ditch Barnes for a second so he doesn't overhear."
"I can't," Grace said.
"Just step into the other room."
"No."
"It's for, like, a minute, Grace."
"The problem is that I'll actually die if we're apart for that long. Is that what you want? You want me to die, Natasha?"
"Yes, that's what I want right now."
"I can ask him to cover his ears?"
"You know what? It's fine," Natasha said reluctantly. "I really need your advice, and Barnes is going to like what I have to tell you anyway."
"You want my advice?" Grace asked excitedly, her face lighting up.
"Yeah, I never thought the day would come either."
"Is it about emotions? Oo, it's for a love confession, isn't it? 'Cause I'm really good at love confessions. I've made several to Bucky."
