How do you heal?

Chapter 58: Boundary Line

The next morning after breakfast Bucky sat in his room reading the book he had borrowed. After Kat's meltdown yesterday afternoon he had decided it would be better to take her home and let her cool off, indefinitely. He'd been ignoring her calls and texts since. If he was honest with himself he didn't really like Kat all that much. In the beginning he had only called her because of the lie he'd told to shut Maximoff up and...and to make Annie jealous, and then he'd just kept hanging out with her for something to do out of the compound. Bucky thought Kat was good looking and he definitely enjoyed their extra curricular activities, they just didn't have anything in common. Kat was also bold, pushy, and intense and while he didn't think those were entirely bad qualities to have, they just weren't ones he enjoyed being around and after watching her blow up yesterday he'd decided he was done with it. He'd call her later.

A soft knock came at Bucky's door. "Come in." He called thinking it was Nat or Steve and not really wanting to put down his book. There was a slight pause before the door opened slowly and Annie entered. Bucky set down his book and sat up. "Hey."

Annie took the few steps across the room slowly as if she might turn and run but arrived at the back of the couch, holding a stack of papers out to Bucky. "Here are the forms you asked for. You can just slide them under my door when you're done."

He looked up at her. Her curls were pulled into a sloppy braid that fell over her shoulder and she wore a green v-neck, the color matched that dress he loved on her. She always looks great in green. He licked his lips and his eyes moved to the papers in her hands. He didn't actually want to fill out the papers. He'd only asked for them to please Kat, which would soon be a moot point, and it felt like if he did this it would sever his last ties to Annie and he wasn't ready for that. Sitting here now, looking up at her he decided he didn't want to give her up. He didn't want to give up on her. Nat, you better be right. "Actually, I don't really see the need to make you go through the work of changing the contact. I'd just change it back to Steve and it's not like he won't get a call if something happens."

Annie stood motionless for a moment, Bucky looking up at her with a soft smile on his face. She didn't understand why he was saying this. He'd asked her for the papers, well Kat had asked, but he'd let her. He'd wanted to update them yesterday and nothing had changed in the last twenty four hours and she did not want another face off with Kat, so he should fill them out. "It's really not a big deal, just a few scans." She said placing the papers on the back of the couch.

Bucky stood and shuffled around the couch toward Annie as he spoke and stopped just a few inches in front of her. "Honestly, Annie, I'd rather keep it as is. That way if Steve isn't capable of making decisions or something, you know if he also got hurt in whatever fight I was in, I'd still have someone who could decide what's best. Someone who knows me and knows what I want." Smiling he reached up and played with the end of her braid, his fingers gently brushing against her collar bone.

She could feel the heat from his body he was so close and suddenly she lost all sense. The way he was looking at her it felt like the last year hadn't happened, it had been a bad dream and now she was awake and he was here, right in front of her. She could just reach out and wrap her arms around him and...It's better if we end this, it never would have worked out anyways. The words from his note that she had read a thousand times and images of him and Kat came flooding to her head and she stepped back. "I need you to fill out the papers, Bucky."

His face fell slightly and he dropped his hand. "Why?" He asked, ice blue gaze boring into her.

Annie felt tears prick in her eyes as she took a deep breath. "Because outside of my duties at the compound you stopped being my responsibility over a year ago."

She turned quickly to leave the room to avoid seeing his reaction to her words. Her own heart pounding in her chest at the sharpness of her tone. She felt him grab her hand but she didn't look at him. "Annie, I don't have anyone else."

"There are firms. I can make an appointment for a lawyer who can get you set up with a will, power of attorney, emergency medical contact and all that." She said over her shoulder trying to hide the tears that had started to flow. The moment of silence felt like a lifetime but she didn't turn or run, she just waited, back towards him.

"Okay." He whispered and released her.

Annie walked swiftly to the door, her head down but he called her name again as she reached for the handle. She paused and angled her body slightly but kept her gaze on the ground.

"We were friends, weren't we? I mean before everything else..." He trailed off but she heard him take a step closer.

Annie sniffled as quietly as she could. "I like to think we were."

"Do you think we could ever get there again?" He asked as he took another few shuffling steps toward her.

Happy, cheerful, people pleasing Annie wanted to nod and smile and say of course. Wanted to believe that, yes, they could definitely be friends again one day, that it would just take time. But that Annie wasn't standing in the room at the moment. This Annie had been broken and hurt and was angry that she'd even let herself be this affected by another person again. This Annie had spent nights awake crying alone by a pool. This Annie had watched as a man she had thought was kind flaunted his relationship with someone that had been nothing but cruel to her. This Annie still loved him and didn't want to be his friend. She looked up and let him see the tears as she opened the door. "No, Buck. I don't think we can."

She stepped into the hall and instead of going straight to her room Annie turned right and moved down the hall to the last door on the left, not even knocking before she opened it and entered.

Bucky walked up to shut the door behind Annie and watched as she moved right down the hall, he stepped out slightly and watched what door she went to. FUCK.

Pietro was in his room getting ready to go for a run. He had headphones on listening to The Wise Man's Fear. He'd let Barnes borrow it because he hadn't actually needed the physical copy and it made him look good to be nice. All the books Annie recommended he'd listened to because he couldn't sit still long enough to read them but he didn't think she needed to know that part. Thank god for audiobooks. He stepped out of the bathroom and headed to his dresser to grab a shirt and jumped. Annie was sitting on the far edge of his bed, her back to him. She's right that is likely to cause a heart attack. He pulled his headphones out and tossed them on the nightstand next to him. "Солнышко, to what do I owe the pleasure of having you in my bed." He said with a smile. She turned slowly to look over her shoulder at him, eyes puffy and face red. What the fuck?

"I'm sorry, fuck, I forgot you were going on a run. I just...I didn't." She said stammering and shaking her head as she began to rise. "I'll go, I just..."

In a flash he'd crawled across the bed and caught her. Turning her he gripped her face in his hands. "Whoa, whoa, wait, no. It's fine. Tell me what happened, are you okay?"

Annie reached up and pulled his hands down holding onto one as she wiped at the tears on her face. Taking a moment to compose herself and steady her breathing. "I'm sorry. If you want to go on your run I can leave. I just...oh god I feel so fucking stupid...I just needed a shoulder to cry on. But it's fine, I'm fine. I'm gonna go."

As she spoke the tears started flowing again and her shoulders shook while holding in sobs as she made to stand but he pulled her back down and wrapped his arms around her. "Don't go. I'm here, cry all you want. It's okay, I'm not going anywhere."

An hour or so later Pietro was awake in his bed, Annie asleep next to him, her head on his chest and an arm wrapped around him. As he laid there, gently running his hand up and down her side, he had never been so content to sit still.