Bucky's Choice

Chapter 18

A/N: TW  Violence

"Shh, let it go sweetie." Nat sits on the bed with Kelsey's head in her lap, gently stroking her hair. Tears fall down Kelsey's face, as she goes over in her head what she must do to save Bucky. "Nat, how can I do this? Steve will never let me near him." "Then we go behind his back." Kelsey sits up, looking at Nat. "We?" "Yes, we. You really think I would let you do something like this alone? You're fucking crazy." Kelsey leans her head toward Nat and they touch they're foreheads.  "Thank you Tash. I don't know how I would have ever gotten through this without you." "Hmm." "What?" "I like that. Tash." Nat looks at Kelsey and she can't hold on to her feelings anymore. She leans in and kisses her lips softly, giving Kelsey a chance to stop her if she wanted. Kelsey feels her soft lips touch hers and a feeling she hasn't felt in a long time slowly consumes her. Kelsey deepens the kiss and Nat probes her mouth with her tongue, asking for permission. Kelsey opens her mouth and their tongues fight for dominance. After several minutes of tongues and heavy petting, Nat is pulling Kelsey's shirt off, when FRIDAY speaks up. "Ms. Romanoff, Mr. Rogers  asks you to meet him in the lounge." Nat breaks the kiss, breathing heavy and horny as hell. "Fucking Steve. Tell him I'll be there in a minute"  Kelsey giggles and falls onto the bed, covering her face. "Oh my god, what is wrong with me?!" "What do you mean?" "I mean, I'm kissing you, sleeping with Steve, all while pining for the psycho soldier down in the cells." Nat giggles at her and climbs on top of her, kissing her again. "Kelsey, I admit this is a, unique situation, but I'm not one to lie about how I feel." This makes Kelsey's heart swell. She traces her finger along Nat's jaw. "I know. That's one of the things I like about you." Nat kisses her again and pushes her leg in between Kelsey's thighs and rubs against her hot cunt. Kelsey pants and rocks her hips for more friction. "Tash, please." "Mmm, I'll leave you with that sweetie. Let me go see what he wants." She gets up and Kelsey grunts in frustration. 

Steve is sitting in the lounge, nursing a beer. What is he going to do? He hasn't seen Bucky in over a week. Having Kelsey here helps, but he feels himself pulling away from her. They sleep together every night, but he can't seem to feel the same way as he does for Bucky, almost like Bucky was the reason he loved her. And without him, he doesn't love her anymore. Just as all these thoughts swirl in his mind, Nat comes up, swatting him on the back. "What's up Rogers?" "Nat, I need to talk to you. I need your advice." "Sure." She goes to the bar and makes herself a drink. She then sits down next to Steve.   "Nat, I feel lost. I need Bucky. But I feel like he's slipping further away from me." Nat pats his back gently, feeling bad for him. "At least you have Kelsey..." Steve cuts her off before she can finish that sentence. "That's the thing. The further I feel from Bucky, the further I feel from Kelsey." Nat uses all her skills not to react to him saying this about Kelsey. "But aren't you with her every night? Doesn't that mean anything to you?" He sips his beer and he holds his head. "It should. I take her every night and it feel less and less satisfying each time." Nat sips her drink trying to hide her scowl. "Have you talked to her about this?" "I can't. She loves me and I can't hurt her." "But Steve, you're hurting her by not telling her how you feel. It's going to be worse if you wait." "That's why I needed you Nat. I need help figuring out what to do." How did she end up in this mess? "Why do you sleep with her if you don't want her?" "It quells the pain for a time." She can't believe she is hearing this. "Well, my advice Steve, is to talk to her. Not fuck her." Nat gets up to leave. "Nat?" "What?" "Thanks." "Sure." Nat goes back to her room and Kelsey is gone. "Dammit. Where the hell did you go?" "FRIDAY, where is Kelsey?" "Ms. Kelsey is heading to Rogers room." Nat sits down and finally lets the tears that have been pricking her eyes fall. Oh god Kelsey. I am so sorry.

Kelsey gets to Steve's room and sees him sitting on the bed, his head in his hands. He looks like he has been crying. "Steve, are you ok?" He looks up at her and sighs. "We need to talk." Kelsey didn't like the tone he used. "Ok. About what?" "I think you should go back to Paris." "What!? Why?" "I don't see how being here is helping him." "Excuse me? What the fuck is this Steve?" "Look, I know I said I love you, but the truth is that I loved you because of him. Without him, I don't feel the same." Is she hearing this right? "So you fucking me every night is what, your stress relief?!" Steve doesn't know how to answer her. "You arrogant piece of shit. You really think you telling me off will make me leave? NOTHING can make me leave him!" "You said it yourself Kels, his heart has always belonged to me. You were just the break in the middle." Kelsey was beyond hurt and without hesitating, punched Steve with everything she had. "FUCK YOU!" He felt his head whip back quickly, not realizing she could hit that hard. Without thinking, he backhanded her across her cheek. Kelsey spun to the ground, clutching her face. She could feel the blood streaming down along with her tears. Kelsey steeled herself and stood up tall. "Nothing will make me leave him. Not the soldier, not you. No matter what either of you do to me." Kelsey confidently walks out of his room. Steve can't believe what he just did. He never had any intention of that conversation getting violent and now he's hit a woman. And not just any woman, the woman he knows in his heart, Bucky loves. He falls to his knees, punching the floor in anger at himself.

Kelsey finds the nearest bathroom and tries to clean herself up. She tenderly washes away the dried blood. "Fuck, this is going to bruise." In the hallway, she calls out for FRIDAY. "FRIDAY, where's Sam?" "Mr. Wilson is in the kitchen with Dr. Banner." "Thank you." She heads to the kitchen and pulls her hair in front of her face to cover up the cut and bruise. "Sam, may I speak with you a moment? Alone?" Sam sees Kelsey and immediately senses something is off. Her posture is hard, like she's holding on for dear life, and he can tell she's been crying. "Sure. See you later Bruce." "Sure." They both walk into an office and Sam closes the door. "What can I do for you Kelsey?" "I heard you and the team are going on a mission tomorrow?" "Not that's its any of your business, but yes. Don't worry, Steve is staying behind with you." "No, he needs to go with you." Sam is shocked at her answer. "Ok, why?" Kelsey lifts her head up and pulls her hair back, showing him her injuries. "What the hell?" "Steve and I are no longer together and we need space apart. Preferably miles apart." Sam's big brother instincts kick in and he gently lifts her chin, looking at her face. "Steve did this?" "He wanted me to leave and go back to Paris. I told him no. I punched him then he backhanded me."  "Well, I can't leave you alone in the compound by yourself." "I'll be fine by myself." "No. Look, if I have Nat stay will that be ok? I notice you two have become friends." "Alright. Thank you Sam." "I know me and you aren't exactly pals, but this, " motions toward her face "is wrong. I'll have a talk with him." "Honestly I don't care what you do with him. I just want to help Bucky." They both just sit in silence for a moment then Sam unexpectantly gives her a hug. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry." She hugs him back, letting out a couple of sobs, then quickly leaves him. 

Kelsey doesn't look up the entire time as her feet automatically take her to where she last felt safe. She knocks on the door and when the door opens, Nat sees Kelsey and her jaw drops. "What the fuck? What the hell happened?" She shuffles you inside and sits you on the edge of the bed. "Steve wanted me to leave. I said no." Nat can't believe what she is hearing. "I have never known Steve to be violent like that." Kelsey gives a hollow laugh. "To be fair, I punched him first." Nat takes her face gently in her hands and pulls her to look at her. "That is no excuse. Unless we are in combat, there is no reason to hit people like this." "I asked Sam to take him on the mission tomorrow. He agreed." Nat smiles slightly at this. "Well I'm glad Sam can get his head out of Steve's ass long enough to see this was wrong." "He is letting you stay to babysit me." "Well, that's a nice sliver lining." Kelsey looks at Nat and in that moment, she needed her. Kelsey suddenly grabs Nat's face and kisses her deep. Nat reciprocates with a need she hasn't felt in a long time. Kelsey breaks the kiss for just a moment and looks deep into Nat's eyes. "Help me forget." Nat smirks and pulls Kelsey onto the bed. "FRIDAY, soundproof the room and lock the door."