It's Forbidden

I'm Extremely Confused

Bucky was terrified. He didn't know what to do or what to think. There was nothing for him to do. Not until he got there. Aspen was unconscious in Bruce's lab. Bruce had already started running tests trying to figure out what was going on, but he hadn't figured anything out just yet. He kept Bucky on the phone, knowing he would want to know her condition at all times. Of course Steve had become aware of the situation, Bucky told Tony, trying to get him to go faster, so they could get there faster, and Tony told Steve.

When they finally touched down at the compound, Bucky had barely even waited for the helicopter to fully land before jumping off of it and running inside. He had never run so fast in his life. He ran through the halls of the compound, his breath shaky, his palms sweaty, his heart racing. He didn't know what he would do if she wasn't okay. But he tried not to think about that. He tried to keep it together. He had to stay calm and be oaky so she would stay calm and be okay. He had hung up on Bruce, so he didn't know what Aspen's condition was since they had hung up when they touched down.

He ran through the halls, getting to the lab finally. "Where is she?" He asked. He hadn't seen her when he first came in. She was in a bed, laying unconscious. There had been a second set of footsteps behind him. He hadn't payed attention to whose they were. He pretty much already knew. But he was only focused on Aspen. He was her only concern. He needed to be with her. He needed to know she was okay, he didn't care who it was that was behind him.

Steve ran into the room behind Bucky. "What happened?" Steve asked. Tony followed in behind them. Bucky was on the verge of a panic attack. He say how helpless and ill Aspen looked laying on the bed and he walked over to her slowly, placing his hand on hers. Holding it. Her hand belt hot. She was burning up. He looked to Bruce for answers. He needed answers. He was going to lose his mind without them. He needed to know what was wrong with Aspen. What was wrong with his girl. His doll. He needed her. He needed to know she would be okay. He needed her to be okay.

"She passed out." He told them. Which they already knew. Bucky looked at Bruce like 'no shit'. Bruce realized his mistake and continued with his answer. "I'm running tests now." He says. "I won't know more until I get the results back." He says. That wasn't good enough for Bucky or Steve. It wasn't a good enough answer. They were both stressed out. Steve and Aspen fought a lot, but Steve still cared about her. Blood or not he still thought of Aspen as his sister. He always had and he always would.

Steve shook his head, his jaw clenched. Tears threatened his eyes. He didn't want the last thing Aspen heard from him to be them yelling at each other. And the last thing Aspen told him, was that she hated him. He needed a chance to redeem himself from that. He knew she didn't mean it, she was just angry, but he needed to at least tell her he was sorry. He didn't want the last conversation they had to be the one they had. To be a fight. He didn't know swathe would do if she wasn't okay.

"Well what happened?" Steve asked. He tried to mask his emotions, look angry. He regretted their fight. He looked over to Bucky holding Aspen's hand and he felt sick to his stomach. He was still under the impression that they were brother and sister. He was angry and he was hurting. "She was fine when we left." Steve said through his teeth. He couldn't keep himself together. He was going through all the stages of grief. He looked to Bruce expectantly, as if he had any answers, but he didn't just yet. Steve knew Bruce was trying but he needed his sister to be okay.

"She was." Bruce told them. Because she was okay when they left. But something had happened. He didn't know exactly what had happened just yet. But he would find out. He was trying to find out. "She seemed to be. I'm not sure what happened. That's what i'm trying to figure out." Bruce told them. He knew they wanted answers, he understood what they were going through, but he was trying his best. And it took time for the test results to come back. Even with the rush he put on them. He knew their judgment was clouded with worry.

Tony saw the amount of stress Bruce was under, having both Bucky and Steve in the room questioning him and having Aspen unconscious on the table in front of him. "How about we all get out and let Bruce do his job." Tony suggested as nicely as he could. Thought he knew both super soldiers would decline. "I'm not leaving her." Bucky said offended. Steve shakes his head, looking at Tony angrily. "Neither am i." He says.

Bruce tried to say in the nicest way possible it would be easier if he could work in peace, since they wanted to him to figure out what was wrong with Aspen, but it didn't work. "It would help to be left alone." He said. They ignored him. And not a moment later Aspen wakes up, rolling over and getting sick. Bucky held her hair back as she threw up over the side of the bed. When she was done getting sick, he wiped her face off, gave her a drink of water and then pulled her close to him, holding her tight. "Hey doll. You're okay. I'm here." He whispered to her.

Steve had held in as long as he could, but he couldn't any longer. "Stop." He said angrily. "Stop calling her doll, stop hugging her." Steve said raising his voice. Bucky was furious. Aspen needed him. And Steve was trying to get in the way of that, for whatever reason. Bucky didn't know what Steve's problem was, but he didn't care.

"No." He says, facing Steve. "She needs someone here who cares about her. And I'm her boyfriend so I'll do whatever I damn well please." Bucky says angrily. "You're not her boyfriend. You're her brother." He practically shouts. "Aspen is adopted." Steve says. Aspen didn't want Bucky to find out this way. She felt sick again. "Oh god. I'm gonna be sick again." Aspen cried. "What?" Bucky asked. Aspen threw up into the trash bin beside the bed again.

Bucky held her hair back again. But he looked at Steve for answers. Steve says nothing. Just looks at him. So Bucky's focus goes back to Aspen. When she's done getting sick, he helped her wipe her face again and get a drink. She shook her head, tears falling down her cheeks and held Bucky's hand. "No you're not. You're not." She cried. Bucky nodded his head, letting her know it was okay, she could calm down and explain it to him.

She took a deep breath and he held her hands in his. "I am adopted. As Steve so kindly screamed in my face before you left. But I'm not your sister. Thank god." Aspen told him. Steve interrupts them. "Wait are you pregnant?" Steve asks. Aspen looks to Steve shocked, Bucky doesn't bother to pay him any mind because he knows the answer. He wipes the tears that had been falling from Aspen's cheeks.

"No." She says. "Hell no. We haven't even had sex yet." Aspen told him. Bucky shook his head. He still needed an explanation about Aspen being adopted. "I'm extremely confused." Bucky says. He meets Tony's eye. Who was watching and listening and having no idea what was going on. "You're confused?" He asked Bucky. "I'm fucking confused bro." Tony said.

"My brother was Howard Stark." Aspen says. "So technicall, I'm Tony's aunt." She explains. "Oh hell no." Tony says. He was beyond confused. "It's true." Bruce says. "I'm so confused." Bucky says.