Trying Your Luck - Bucky BarnesxOC

Part 9: Bed Bath & Beyond

A/N: I keep getting comments about this so I'm going to address it. People keep asking "why hasn't she figured out that Bucky is the Winter Soldier?"

Why are we expecting characters to be completely omniscient and know everything? People don't know everything. Sure, you as the reader are familiar with superhero identities but it doesn't mean that EVERYONE in this universe is. In Shannon's eyes, Bucky has been completely honest and she has no reason to be suspicious of him. He's been a really good boyfriend and she trusts him. "Why doesn't she google him?" I don't know. I wrote this in the middle of lockdown while doing edibles and it's now February 2023. I make mistakes sometimes! (I also don't google everyone I meet - look them up on socials? Sure. But I don't google people unless I need their email address).

"So you're still seeing Shannon?" Dr. Raynor asks. It's her first question as she sits down. This woman absolutely doesn't let up. Ever. It's exhausting. He wants to be on Shannon's porch listening to Fleetwood Mac. He's never heard Fleetwood Mac before, but she loves them.

Bucky nods.

"How long has it been?"

"Almost three weeks."

"Tell me about her."

He raises an eyebrow.

"Why?"

He feels protective of Shannon. She's something that's all his - metaphorically, at least. She's her own person and she can do what she wants. He knows that. But he likes having a part of his life that Dr. Raynor doesn't have her interrogating claws in, so to speak. Shannon feels like a safe house, a place for him to go where he doesn't have to think about who he was in the past or what he's done. Maybe this was the rehabilitation shit that Dr. Raynor was talking about, and the reason Sam was warning him to be careful. But this time, if he lost himself, would it be that bad? They don't understand what he's been through or what it feels like to inhabit his specific skin, to feel guilt pumping through you every minute of every day and settling into your bones like it's part of your DNA.

Dr. Raynor rolls her eyes and dangles her pen over a blank notepad.

"James..."

"Fine! Fine!" He sighs. "She's, uh... she's great. She's smart, she's funny, she's a great cook," he finds himself rambling. "She does this really cute thing with her nose when she laughs —"

Dr. Raynor stares at him and Bucky clears his throat.

"She's a chef."

"How far has your relationship gone in the past three weeks?" Dr. Raynor asks.

"What do you mean?"

"Have you been intimate together? You mentioned last week that you spent the night with her."

He doesn't tell her he came here straight from Shannon's place.

"Do you mean sex?"

Dr. Raynor nods.

"Not yet. We've... done stuff, though. And we cuddle and watch TV. I realized that I like doing that. It's nice."

"Understood. Are you afraid to be fully intimate? Or is she?"

"I am," Bucky says honestly. "I'm afraid she'll find out what I am."

"What's that?"

He takes his glove off and holds up his metal hand.

"Look at me. How do I explain this?"

"Tell her the truth."

He sniffs and looks out the window as a small bird lands on the telephone pole just outside of the building.