Bucky's Roommate

Chapter 10

Tia Miranda passed away at four in the morning with her wedding band clutched in her hand and a smile on her lips. Every night, she sent a prayer up to God and when the word "amen" left her mouth, so did her last breath.

Claudia had sobbed hard with her head in her hands when she was told the news and Michael was comforting Marcelo and taking care of Lux, who was too young to understand what had happened. Adel had stayed quiet and he didn't shed a tear as he walked towards Miranda's still form. He picked up her free hand and pressed a single kiss to her cold knuckles before he set her hand down over her still heart.

"Your prayers have been answered." Adel had whispered so quietly that it was only thanks to Bucky's enhanced hearing that he caught the words. "You will suffer no more and your family will be safe. My word is my bond." He walked over to Claudia, who was managing to control herself enough to stop the heavy flow of tears, and gently grabbed her forearms. He said something softly to her and she looked into his eyes, something searching in her expression, before she seemed to sag in relief as she rested her head on his shoulder, her sister's name a whisper on her lips.

xx

"Tia Miranda was her little sister." Adel explained to Bucky as they sat in front of the hospital steps as they waited for Claudia and Michael to finish speaking to the doctors. "They only had each other for a while. Then Tia Miranda and my mom made their own families but they were never far from each other. Losing her sister..." His next words were spoken softly but his tone held promise. "Will be hard for her but she is one of the strongest humans I know and she will learn to cope. Tia Miranda will always be in our hearts."

"We talked, you know." Bucky spoke quietly and Winter hummed in the back of his mind, both thinking back on their conversation with the wonderful woman. "Last night when your ma had you help wake Lux to bring outside when she fell asleep."

Adel looked at him for a moment, his eyes seeming to search for something. "Will you tell me what she said?" His voice was wobbly and vulnerable, the most open he had been since the news hours ago.

"She didn't tell me much." Bucky began, looking away for a moment as he glanced up at the fluffy white clouds. It always rained in movies and he had found it cliché. Now, he understood why. "She only told me to take care of you," He turned back to the shorter male. "And to always catch you when you fall."

"Fall." The way the Latino said the word made it seem as though it was one of the most important things in life. It almost felt like a clue- a clue to figuring out just who Adel was. "She only just met you..." Despite what he said, it was almost like he was talking to himself. "Yet she trusts you so completely..."

"I wouldn't let you, you know." Bucky spoke and continued when the other looked at him with big brown eyes. "I wouldn't let you fall."

"So you say."

xx

When Adel and Bucky arrived at Claudia's house, there was a whirlwind of activity as people spoke on the phone and prepared food in the kitchen.

"What's going on?" The soldier asked, confused, because he had expected the family to be more... Sad and upset. "It hadn't even been a few hours since Miranda passed away.

"We're going to have a party." Claudia explained, her eyes rimmed with red but a small smile on her face. "It's a celebration of life. It's a tradition that we have done for generations where we celebrate the life the person has had and the impact they had on us instead of mourning what could have been. We're still sad, of course we are, but... She's not suffering anymore and I can't ask for anything better than that."

Bucky looked over at Adel, who was sitting with Lux as the two listened to what instructions people gave them, and he snorted at the identical looks of exasperation on their faces. "He didn't cry. He cries a lot but this time..."