In The Endzone

Chapter 3

            Bucky was talking with a few of the guys from his astronomy class as he walked down the sidewalk, when he noticed you sitting underneath a tree, writing somethings down in what looked like your journal. Bucky told the guys he had to do something before walking over to you.

"Whatcha writin'?" He asked as he sat beside you.

You closed the journal quickly and shook your head. "Nothing."

He noticed your eyes were slightly rimmed red from what looked like crying, and his heart clenched. "Hey, are you okay?"

You rubbed your eyes and nodded. "Yeah...I'm fine."

Bucky chewed his bottom lip before sighing. "Well, you can tell me when you feel like."

You looked at the grass and rubbed your arm. "What do you think about a person that keeps secrets in a relationship?"

Bucky's heart started to hammer in his chest. Did you know? He rubbed his hands together nervously. "Well...it depends on what the secret is I guess."

You hummed and started messing with a twig on the ground. "Yeah."

You both sat there in silence for a few minutes before you shoved your journal in your bag before standing up.

"I...I gotta go. See you Saturday?"

Bucky stood up and shoved his hands into his pockets. "Yup. See you Saturday."

You kissed his cheek and hugged him tightly. "Thanks for just being with me. It's nice."

Bucky hugged you back as his chest constricted. He felt sick that he was doing this to you, but he'd just have to power through it. "No need to thank me."

~~~~~

It was raining heavily, and you frowned. Why'd it have to rain on now? You just wanted to go stargazing with Bucky so you could stop keeping secrets from him. You felt bad for not telling him and you really liked him. He was dorky and really sweet. Your phone pinged.

Bucky: Movies and pizza night instead?

You smiled and picked up your phone.

You: Sure!

Bucky: Great! 😊 Your place, okay?

You: Yeah. Wanda's visiting her brother, so it'll just be us.

Bucky: Sounds good. You set up the movie, I'll bring the pizza. See you in a bit.

You: 😊

You tidied up your dorm a little bit before scrolling through some movies. You wanted to watch a romance movie, but did he like them? You sighed and just decided to wait until he got there. Soon, a knock rang throughout your dorm, and you opened the door to see Bucky holding a black umbrella and holding two boxes of pizza with a bright smile.

"Hey there. Got room for a cold football guy with pizza?"

You laughed. "The pizza convinced me."

"Wow, doll. You really gonna be like that?" He said coming and setting his things down before coming to tickle you. "You're gonna pay for that's sweetheart."

Bucky started to tickle your sides as you and Bucky's laughter echoed through the air.

"O-okay! I'm s-s-sorry!" You tried to say between giggles.

"What was that doll? Couldn't quite hear you." He said as he continued his onslaught of tickles.

"S-sorry!"

He stopped and smiled before looking out the window and then back to you. "The rain let up a little bit. We could take a little walk, or you know, cross that thing off your bucket list." He said the last part a little quieter as his cheeks dusted pink.

You smiled up at him from your position on the couch. "A walk sounds nice. It can get me hungry for all that pizza."

He nodded and waited for you to get on your jacket and shoes. He held the umbrella for the both of you as you walked around. It smelled nice and calmed your insides. His other hand reached for yours and you intertwined your fingers with his. A content sigh left his lips as he squeezed your hand.

"You know..." Bucky started as he looked at you, his stomach twisting. "You're a beautiful and amazing person and no matter what people say or do to you that is degrading or hurtful, just know it's not about you, it's about them."

You leaned into his side. "Thanks, Bucky. It means a lot."

He slowly dropped the umbrella and used his now free hand to cup your cheek. He swallowed and stared into your eyes. The rain streetlight reflecting the rain gave him an almost ethereal glow as he tugged you closer. You slowly leaned into each when your stomach twisted. You put your hands on his chest and swallowed.

"Bucky, wait—"

He stopped and stared at you with those gorgeous blue eyes. "Too fast? I'm sorry, I—"

"N-no. I want to. I do. I just...I need to tell you something." You held onto the lapels of his jacket tightly and looked down.

"Hey." He said softly as he tilted your chin to look at him. "It's okay just tell me."

You took a deep breath. "I'm...I'm dying."

Bucky's breath hitched. "Wh-what?"

"I have cancer. There's not much the doctors can do. I'm not expected to live past 25. Not many people know."

Bucky felt like he'd been hit by a sledgehammer. He wanted to throw up and cry. You were dying? The money wasn't looking very good right now. He got your hopes up and messed with your feelings so much you told him something few people knew. He felt horrible and wanted to scream that he had been lying to you, but it would only make the situation worse, so he pushed it back.

"I understand if you want to break up with me now. I just felt back keeping a secret from you." You said staring at the puddles of rain behind him.

He shook his head and pulled you into a hug. "I'm not breaking up with you. It's okay." 

At least not yet anyway. 

He frowned at his own thoughts as you cried into his chest. He was a horrible person, but he wasn't going to tell you that. Maybe he could stop this, tell Zemo he wanted to stop this, but he felt like he was already in too deep.