Doll and James

You saved my life, now I'm officially your problem

Lana had gone to bed when the door opened slowly and Bucky appeared behind it, his lips pressed together. Lana didn't say anything but sat up on the bed quickly. He sent her a slight nod before entering, closing the door carefully behind him.

He pulled off his jacket before discarding his shirt, making Lana look down. He walked around her and reached the bed, eventually settling down in it and seemingly planning to go to sleep.

"Must've been nice to have the room to yourself while I was gone," Lana commented, not looking at Bucky, who had his back turned to her; "Have the bed to yourself."

"Mh. Didn't use it all that much." His reply was short, but a part of Lana was thankful he didn't just ignore her.

"No... Cap said you'd been out a lot," Lana admitted, picking at the cast on her leg. When Bucky didn't reply, she continued. "He said you were practically killing yourself to find any leads on me."

"Well, I was never gonna hear the end of it otherwise, was I?" Bucky muttered; "Loki would kill you and when I died I'd have to listen to you whine and complain for an eternity in hell."

"I... James... Thank you," she finally breathed out; "For finding me. I don't know if I've said it properly, or at all, but... It was really scary, to be honest. Thank you for saving me."

Bucky turned around, facing her half of the bed with his eyes still closed.

"You were managing pretty well on your own," he commented.

"Yeah, but... Thank you, James," she just repeated quietly.

"You're welcome, Doll," he replied so softly she almost thought she'd imagined it. She took a deep breath and nodded to herself before lying down. She pondered a bit, looking at the ceiling before sighing.

"Do you really think you'll go to hell?" she asked softly.

"I don't even know if I believe in it," Bucky admitted, still not opening his eyes.

"But if it does exist," Lana insisted.

"I'm not arguing about whether there's a heaven and a hell. It's late, I'm tired. Sleep," he ordered.

"I'm just asking, if it's real, do you really think you'd go to hell?" she continued, ignoring him.

"Where else would I go?" Bucky asked, opening his eyes to find Lana's already focused on him, searching his face.

"The other place that starts with an h? Bit further up?" Lana suggested.

"What would I be doing there?" Bucky asked confused.

"Hang out? Play cards with God? What do I know," Lana answered with a snicker.

"I meant," Bucky corrected; "Why would I be in heaven? I'm not exactly a good person."

"Well... You did just save my life not long ago," Lana argued.

"Yes, and that was clearly a bad decision, and now I'm being punished," he replied quickly. Lana scoffed, turning to her back.

"You're mean when you're tired," she commented, closing her eyes.

"Keyword is tired, Doll. Let me sleep," he ordered. Lana accepted but shortly after sat up before getting up on one leg.

"What the hell are you doing?" Bucky asked without opening his eyes.

"I need water," Lana explained, beginning to jump towards the door. Bucky groaned but flipped the cover away and padded over the floor, grabbing her by her shoulders and turning her back to the bed before leaving the room. Lana accepted and sat down until Bucky returned, handing her the glass.