How do you heal?

Chapter 52: I'm Not Jealous

Bucky shot up in his bed, heart racing. As he looked around the room and remembered where he was his heart rate slowed and he looked over at his clock. It was almost two in the morning.

Brainwashing, gone. Nightmares, no such luck. He stood up and headed to the kitchen deciding after the day and nightmares that he'd had he deserved a shot...or four. Once in the kitchen he began rummaging through cabinets, he couldn't remember exactly where the alcohol was kept but he thought he recalled Annie pulling wine bottles from under the island a few Christmases ago so he turned and bent, opening the first door on the island. In it he saw several dozen tins with little labels as well as several large jars. Her tea stash. Bucky made to stand and close the cabinet when the labels on the large jars caught his eye.

Rhodey - Digestion 6/3/16

Rhodey - Immunity 5/27/16

Wanda - Calm 6/10/16

Bucky - Sleep 6/17/16

Today's date. At some point today, despite the cold greeting this afternoon and ignoring him at dinner all night, she thought about him enough and cared enough to prep him tea in case he needed it. And seeing as he couldn't find the booze, he needed it.

The next morning Annie was in the kitchen making breakfast for her and Pietro. It was better to wake him with food when he had to get up early so she had bagels and eggs just about ready. On top of that she had loaded up a backpack with snacks. It was a seven mile trail and at her pace it would easily take three hours and god forbid Pietro get hungry and grumpy. He was basically a bottomless pit and she was nothing if not prepared for all situations, especially those involving food.

As she pulled several water bottles out and began filling them she heard steps coming down the hall. She turned expecting to find Steve or Wanda but was met instead with Bucky's face and she froze.

"Uh, hey." He said softly and then moved to sit at the island counter.

Annie gave him a small smile and turned back to the sink to continue filling the bottles. "Good Morning."

After a few moments of awkward silence Annie heard Bucky clear his throat. "So, uh, running behind today?"

She turned off the tap and looked at him. "What?"

"Well, just, usually by now you'd have breakfast ready. So if you're running behind I can help." He replied haltingly.

"Oh, no I'm off on Saturdays but I've still probably got about twenty minutes before Piet is ready so if you want I can get you set up with coffee and maybe some toast and eggs?" She offered as she glanced at her watch.

Bucky had to mentally restrain his eyes from rolling at the mention of Pietro's name as he got up and moved toward the coffee pot. "No, no I'm good. I just didn't think about what day it was." Annie nodded and Bucky watched her from the corner of his eye as he started the coffee pot. She capped the water bottles she'd filled and tossed them into a backpack that was on the floor before she plated bagels from the toaster, dumping small piles of scrambled eggs on them. As she grabbed one of the plates and passed Bucky to start heading towards the bedrooms he called out. "Annie." She stopped and looked at him but didn't say anything. "I wanted to thank you. Last night I...I uh, found the tea jar. It came in handy, so, thank you. You didn't have to do that."

She just shrugged. "It's my job to take care of you guys."

Bucky took two small steps towards her. "I know, I just..."

With a blur Annie was back behind the island near her backpack a small squeal turning into laughter and in front of her, one arm around her waist and the other holding one of the bagels, stood Pietro. "Ready for our adventure, Солнышко?"

Pietro was walking groggily down the hall to meet Annie. He did not enjoy waking up early but he knew she would want to get their day started as soon as possible so he had set three alarms.

"Oh, no I'm off on Saturdays but I've still probably got about twenty minutes before Piet is ready so if you want I can get you set up with coffee and maybe some toast and eggs?" He heard Annie's voice saying from the kitchen and he stopped to listen.

"No, no I'm good. I just didn't think about what day it was." Came Barnes reply and Pietro took a few more soft steps down the hall. It was silent for a moment before Annie stepped just into Pietro's view and he heard Barnes call out to her. She tensed and turned back toward the kitchen. "I wanted to thank you. Last night I...I uh, found the tea jar. It came in handy, so, thank you. You didn't have to do that."

Pietro watched Annie sigh and shrug before she replied. He could feel her discomfort rolling off her and it irritated him. Barnes had fucked her up when he left and it was fucking her up again him being back. Last night at dinner Pietro had seen the way Barnes kept watching her, predatorily and longingly. He lost the right to look at her like that when he left her with a note. All other feelings aside Annie was Pietro's best friend and he wasn't about to let Barnes just walk back in and get away with acting like he'd done nothing wrong. So as he heard Barnes' take a few steps and begin to speak again Pietro ran into the kitchen, grabbing Annie around the waist with one arm and, what he assumed was his bagel, with the other carrying her to the bag he spotted on the floor. Before taking a bite he smiled at Annie and asked, "Ready for our adventure, Солнышко?"

"Yes, weirdo." Annie replied, pulling the backpack off the ground to zip it before grabbing her own bagel and making to pull the bag on her back. "Bags all packed with your fifty pounds of snacks."

Pietro grabbed the bag from her hands and slipped it onto his own back. "Hey, they are my snacks, I can carry them like a big boy."

She laughed and threw her hands up. "By all means, have at it! But I am driving." She turned and put their plates into the sink and took a few steps before stopping to look at Barnes. "We are headed out, are you good to go?"

Pietro watched from behind her as Barnes worked his jaw side to side and looked him up and down in irritation and Pietro couldn't help the cocky grin that came to his face.

Bucky watched Annie put their plates in the sink and take a few steps stopping in front of him. "We are headed out, are you good to go?"

Bucky looked over her shoulder at Pietro who had a shit eating grin on his face. "Yeah, I'm good." He said and he turned his back on them, anger rising as he focused on the brewing coffee.