Winter's Weakness

I Couldn't Stay Away

Avoiding Steve while trying to act as if I was still in love with him was becoming harder and harder by the day. I needed this plan to work, I needed to destroy him in more ways than one. I wanted him to feel the betrayal I'd felt, to feel like everything he thought he knew was a lie. Sure it was petty, but I was beyond the point of caring anymore. I needed this and I wouldn't stop until I got it.

After meeting with Tony at the bar, things had been put into motion. I'd managed to talk him down from hunting Steve down himself. The rivalry that had always existed between them had turned to pure rage on his part. It was something I never expected when I reached out to Tony, for him to accept my word with no proof, but I was glad he did. He'd always been one of the easier ones to convince that I wasn't a complete villain. He'd understood my need for revenge and now he was someone I could rely on. Someone I could trust. That in itself was a miracle considering how hard it has become over the years to let someone into my life enough to make a difference.

I begin wiping the tables down in the bar, greeting our new chef Henry as he walks in.

"Hey boss." He greets me with a wave. "Did the delivery come yet?"

"Yeah, its all in the kitchen. You need any help?"

"Nah, Sarah is in later and she can help with the few bits I need."

Hiring extra staff was giving me the option to step back slightly. The lunch time rush was a couple of hours away, but I knew him and Sarah would handle it just fine. I'd be around in the office if it got too much and a couple of the girls were coming in to help behind the bar anyway. With any luck I'd be able to leave after I'd filled in the paperwork to shut Steve out of my business completely.

"Just shout if you need anything, I'll be in the back."

"Sure thing."

I headed into my office, content with collapsing on the sofa and getting some sleep, but that wouldn't fulfil the plan. Which meant it would be longer until I got back to Bucky, so I settled for loading up the invoices and getting the bills paid. A few moments in, I let out a sigh of relief when my phone begins to ring, a welcome distraction.

"Tony? Is it done?" I asked hopefully.

"Cameras are all set up. I still don't like this."

He'd made that abundantly clear when we'd met. He just wanted to pull me out and back to the compound where we could put together a case to put Steve behind bars. Most normal people would have jumped at the opportunity, but not me.

"It has to be this way Tony. I want to destroy every he loves, everything he holds dear."

Without even seeing Tony I knew he was rolling his eyes at me, that he wanted nothing more than to change my mind. He couldn't though and deep down he knew it.

"How long do you need?"

"A couple of weeks. He thinks I worship the ground he walks on. He'll propose any day now."

Then I'll rip out his heart, shred it to pieces and shove it down his throat one broken part at a time and watch as he crumbles and realises he's lost.

"Be careful." Tony warned, knowing it wasn't an argument he was about to win. "He still has the book."

"As long as I'm not mentally drained the words are useless."

I leave out the fact that I'm barely sleeping, not wanting to be near Steve longer than absolutely necessary. The worry that I'll talk in my sleep and Bucky's name will escape my lips plays heavily on my mind. I knew if I told Tony that he'd pull me out whether I wanted him to or not. It wasn't an option.