It's Forbidden

You'll Both Thank Me Later

Later that night, Bucky found himself alone thinking. About Aspen. Because what else would he be thinking of? It was always her. He was thinking about her nightmare. Normally she would tell him what his nightmares were about. But not this time. She didn't tell him this time. And that worried him.

He went to the bar to find Natasha. He knew she would be there. She was always there. She loved making drinks for people, especially tropical ones like the ones she made Aspen. And she liked to listen to what people had to say and help them whatever way she could, so she practically bartended. It wasn't all her being nosey and wanting to know, she really did help whoever she would talk to.

"Hey Nat, have you seen Aspen?" Bucky asks her. Nat knew this wasn't just a casual visit to ask where Aspen was because Bucky sat down at one of the barstools. If he was just asking where Aspen was, he would've stayed standing and made it quick, so he could go find her. So Nat got him a beer. "She was here a little while ago. She said she was going back to her room." Nat tells him.

Bucky takes in the information for a second and looks like he's at a loss for words. "She uhm...I just- is she okay?" He stutters out. He found it hard to open up to people. Which was understandable with everything he had been through. But he was asking about Aspen. For Aspen. Because he wanted to make sure she was okay.

"Yea she seemed fine. You know, considering everything. But she tells you everything. Couldn't you ask her?" Natasha asks Bucky. Knowing that her question would make him dig deeper and help him think through his feelings as he has to think of an answer to tell Nat. She knew exactly what she was doing. Just like she did with Aspen. Bucky blushed slightly and looked at Nat. "Did she talk to you about me?" Bucky asks trying to hide that he was more than slightly flattered by the thought of Aspen talking about him.

"No." Nat says. And Bucky stopped blushing. And it was no longer hard to hide it because it wasn't there anymore. "Why would there have been something to tell?" Natasha asks. Bucky shakes his head, shaking away any thought he had of Aspen that could've been more than platonic away. "No. It's just sue for into an argument with Steve about me." Bucky says.

Natasha acts like she doesn't know already, to get Bucky to talk out loud, so he can process his feelings. "Hmm. Why? What happened?" Natasha asks him. "I don't know." Bucky says. "Steve's convinced there's something going on, and there's not." Bucky tells her. Natasha decides that nobody is getting anywhere until Bucky and Aspen stop lying to themselves.

So she tells Bucky straight up. No sugar coating. She tells him exactly what he needs to hear. "Who are you trying to convince? Me? Or yourself?" Natasha asks him. Bucky shakes his head and looks away from Nat. And obvious tell. He didn't believe a word he was saying, and neither did she. "What do you mean? She's my best friend. So is Steve." Bucky says.

Natasha thinks for a moment. Of what to say to Bucky to help him process through everything. Him and Aspen both needed to be guided. They couldn't fully understand how they felt about what another because they had felt it for so long it felt normal. They didn't realize how they felt. They didn't know they could love each other as best friends and love each other romantically. They didn't fully understand how they were feeling. Not yet anyway.

"Bucky you and Aspen both used the same line. You're best friends. It's none of my business...but I see the way you two look at each other. The way you protect each other." Natasha says. Bucky downs his beer. Just as Aspen would do. Like it could actually do something. When he knew very well, just as Aspen did, it couldn't do a thing. But he did it anyway.

Him and Aspen were so alike, they were bonded together and they couldn't even see it. Everyone else saw it clearly. But for some reason neither of them could. He shakes his head and really thinks about what Natasha is saying as she's saying it. He lets her words sink in. Because he knows that there is truth to what she's saying. It's like for once he can finally start seeing things clearly.

He's finally let his mind open up to the possibility that what he and Aspen had was more than a lifelong friendship and an unbreakable bond, it might be something more. He finally started to open his mind up to even the slightest possibility of this. And once he did he couldn't stop thinking about it. About her.

"I just met you both and I can see it." Natasha continues. "You're so in love with each other you can't even see it. You are aware you can be in love with her and be her best friend? Right?" She asks him. Because she knows he doesn't know this. Neither of them do. They probably knew deep down but never let themselves think it. Out of fear. That's what it boiled down to. Everything. Fear.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Bucky says. But he did. He knew exactly what she was taking about. And he let his mind wonder. He let himself think. He just wasn't ready to say it out loud yet. And Natasha understood. She had said her peace and she knew Bucky was letting what she said sink in. And both him and Aspen would start figuring out what they really wanted. She was satisfied with this outcome. Because she could see he was really thinking about it. "Maybe not now. But you'll both thank me later." She tells him.