Rectify | Bucky Barnes

Chapter Thirty-Seven

The morning sun peeks through the thin curtains of the bedroom, the warm glow warming my face. The air is crisp and cool, making the thick comforter feel like heaven. I stretch my arms and snuggle into Bucky, smelling the fresh linen along with him. He holds me close to him, the both of us taking our time to wake up. There's no rush, we have all day to do whatever we want. 

"Good morning, handsome." I say with a small smile, though he can't see it. 

"Good morning, gorgeous." He says back. I look up at him, seeing he's already looking at me. I smile wider, I love seeing his bright blue eyes first thing in the morning. They hold a happiness that I cherish, a happiness I once never thought I'd see. 

"What are we gonna do today?" I ask him. He bites his lower lip and looks at the ceiling as he thinks.

"We could go on a walk this morning and then go to the pond." He proposes. 

"Sounds good to me."I say and take one last moment of cuddles. 

Reluctantly, I roll out of the warm covers and my feet hit the cool floor. I open the dresser and pick out some clothes for the day, wanting to keep it simple. Bucky lays in bed as I go to the bathroom to get ready for our day. I take a quick shower and put on my clothes. I take the time to dry my hair since I don't want to go out walking with it wet. 

I put my dirty clothes along with my towel in the hamper and go back to our bedroom. I'm surprised to see Bucky out of bed and changed as well, usually he takes his sweet time getting up and ready. We walk outside together, the air is chilly but I know once we start walking we'll warm right back up. 

We've adjusted well to our new life out in the woods, it took a few months to not be constantly paranoid. We're on month seven of being here and we're both content with where we are. This is the life we've dreamed of having and it's finally reality. There's no organization we belong to, nobody we have to answer to but ourselves. We're finally independent.

Bucky takes my hand as we start walking the trail. The leaves are finally turning colors and falling off the trees, it's beautiful. The birds sing their morning songs, the doves coo in the trees. I take a deep breath of the fresh air. Ever since I've been out of prison, I found that I have a deeper appreciation for the small and simple things in life. 

Luckily I started gaining back all the weight I had lost, but I still have some progress to make. Bucky has helped me every step of the way. He's supported and loved me every single day and I find myself falling deeper and deeper in love with him as each day passes. I couldn't have asked for anyone better. 

I look at the rainbow of leaves as we walk down the familiar path and find myself reflecting on the past two years. It doesn't seem like that much time has gone by, but I did spend a year in prison. Two years ago I was reunited with the man whose life I was convinced I ruined, I never thought I'd ever see him again. 

I never considered the possibility that I would have fallen in love with him. I had always loved him back in our Hydra days, but it was more of a protective and sorrowful love. But I didn't fall in love with the Winter Soldier, I fell in love with Bucky. He's kind, empathetic, supportive, and so much more. I'm beyond grateful that I was able to get that disgusting program out of his mind. 

Unfortunately, not everyone was able to live in peace after all this time. Steve is still on the run, he pops in from time to time to see us but he never stays long. Bruce is still missing and there isn't a day that goes by that I don't think of him. I miss him dearly, I don't think that wound will ever fully heal. Wanda was detained by Shield, I'm not quite sure what happened after that. 

We're not sure where Thor is either, he's been out of contact for a while. I bet he's somewhere in space, perhaps back in his homeland. 

Bucky told me that while I was in prison Wanda had tried to tell me they were coming to get me. She must've been able to connect to my mind through the shared memory we have, it's the only thing I could think of, seeing as how I saw the silhouette. I hope they're treating her well, but who knows. My heart breaks at the thought of her being imprisoned just as I was.