Till I Die (Bucky Barnes)

15

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught movement to my right. Bruce's back was turned to me as he checked my vitals on the monitor. "Hey there, Doc," I said in a hoarse voice. Bruce snapped his head in shock, "Don't scare me like that, Ophelia... How are you feeling?". Bruce handed me a glass of water which I greedily drank. Once it was empty, I gave Bruce the glass. "As a building has hit me..." I said with a weak smile.

Bruce smiled, "I'll let the team know you're okay." "Okay, thanks, Bruce," I said. "No problem," Bruce said and walked out of the room. After a few minutes, I hear rapid footsteps in the hallway. The door burst open; everyone swarmed in. Wanda and Pepper were sobbing uncontrollably. Nat gave me a lecture along with Tony to better care for myself. Cap and Sam were asking me questions.

Thor was yelling about his worry, and Loki tried calming him down. The vision was trying to console Wanda. And Bucky was in the furthest corner keeping his head down. He was probably the most worried. "Alright, everyone, calm down!" Bruce yelled, and the room slowly went quiet. "You may visit her later; the most I can allow is two people at a time," Bruce said. Bruce started shooing everyone out, but Bucky ended up staying behind.

Once the door closed, it was just the two of us. "Bucky-" I began, but he cut me off. "Do you know how terrified I was?!?" he asked rhetorically. I bit my bottom lip to refrain from answering. "I've never been so scared since I fell off that damn train!" he punched the wall beside him. It made a fist-sized hole that made me cringe. He pulled his left hand from the wall and tightened his jaw. 

Tears started to burn in the corner of my eyes. Bucky made his way over to me, his eyes cast to the ground. "Y-your pulse stopped for three minutes," Bucky said in a broken voice. He slowly looked up at me, his eyes holding unshed tears. Slowly, I raised my left hand and wiped away his unshed tears. My heart skipped a beat when Bucky took my hand and kissed my palm softly. The heart monitor sped up a little bit, and Bucky chuckled softly. 

"S-shut up..." I said with a small smile. "How long was I out for?" I asked once we calmed down slightly. Bucky sighed, holding my hand to his cheek, "One week." My eyes widened, "One week?!? It felt like five minutes...". My mind wandered to my conversation with my mom, and my brows furrowed. "There's another thing, too," Bucky said, causing me to snap my eyes at him.

"What is it?" I asked. Bucky rubbed the back of his neck with his left hand. "Wanda told us what happened in your mind while you were unconscious. About your dad trying to kill us, your mom..." Bucky replied. "I figured she would have told you guys..." my head pounded, and I winced slightly. Bucky took my right hand and pressed a soft kiss to the back, "Never do that to yourself or us again, alright?"

I nodded and let out a small giggle, "Your old man heart can't take it, huh?" Bucky raised an eyebrow at my comment, "This old man can still bring you to cloud 9, don't forget that." "Oh, I won't. Don't you worry," I replied, and he winked? "Want me to care for your father?" he asked, rubbing small circles on my hand. I shook my head, "I appreciate it, Bucky, but I can handle him."

Bucky nodded and kissed my forehead, "Get some sleep, okay? I'll come by later." I yawned softly and nodded as I began to drift off. "Okay, thank you, Bucky," I said as my eyes closed and drifted off to a peaceful slumber. No dreams, no nightmares either, sleep. Waking up a second time, I felt much better and more refreshed. I saw Nat setting down a glass of water and two aspirins. 

She looked my way to see I was awake; she smiled softly, "Afternoon, honey. How do you feel?" I inhaled deeply and exhaled, "Better, thirsty, which is a good sign." Nat helped me sit up and held the glass to my lips as I took small sips and the aspirins. My migraine was gone for the most part, which was also good. Nat helped me up, and I stood on my feet. The door opened to reveal Wanda with a change of clothes. 

"You look refreshed, love. I brought some clothes for you," she gently handed them to me. "Thank you, Wanda. I appreciate it," I said and changed into the bathroom. I brushed my hair with my hands and rinsed my mouth with mouthwash. I left the toilet to see Wanda and Nat talking in hushed voices. They saw me and smiled anxiously. I raised an eyebrow. 

"What is it?" I asked curiously and confused. Wanda nudged Nat on the side. Nat sighed, "Bucky, let out the Winter Soldier while you were asleep for a week." My mouth dropped, and my eyes widened, "What?!?" "Don't get mad; it was Bucky's idea. Steve read the words, and no one got surprisingly hurt," Wanda said. "Where is he?" I asked, looking at both of them accusingly. 

"The gym..." they said in unison. I walked out of Bruce's lab and to the gym in long strides. I opened the gym door; I saw Bruce, Tony, Loki, Thor, and Pepper watching Steve spar with Bucky. Or Winter, I guess, judging by his fighting stances and jabs. I slowly walked over to Pepper and kept my eyes on Steve and Winter. Pepper noticed me and brushed a few hair strands from my face, "Hello, dear."

"H-hi, Pepper... What's going on?" I asked in a whisper. "Bucky wanted more control over his other self; he talked to us and convinced Tony and Steve after eight hours of trying. So far, no one has gotten hurt, minus the bruises of sparring, of course, but that's it," Pepper replied. "Uh-huh..." I mumbled, watching Winter spar; he was holding his jabs. He was trying his very best to be gentle with Steve.

"Heart rate, Green Bean?" Tony asked Bruce. "Steady at 175 over 200. He's just fine, incredible with his brain too. He's holding himself back from his full potential, which is impressive," Bruce replied. "He's strong for a mortal," Loki said, observing Winter. "Indeed, maybe I shall spar next?" Thor said, clapping Loki on the back. "Hold off on that, Point Break, okay?" Tony asked with a chuckle.