Time Bomb

Chapter 12

As Dani finished her first song I stood up and brought my chair up to the small platform and sat down, pulling her to sit on my lap.
"You sure you wanna do this tonight?" I asked her quietly and she smiled at me.
"I'm sure. Are you okay with this? I wanted to try something new and I know you can sing too." She said and put an arm around my neck, her hand resting just above my collarbone.
"Then let's do it." I said and she gave Clint a thumbs up to start playing piano. I looked out at everyone with surprised faces except Nat who had obviously been told the plan beforehand. Her face lit up with pure happiness for her apparent adoptive little sister.
The piano started playing and I started singing the song first. Dani joins in when the chorus begins.
"I fell by the wayside, like everyone else
I hate you, I hate you, I hate you
But I was just kidding myself
Our every moment, I start to replace
'Cause now that they're gone
All I hear are the words that I needed to say
When you hurt under the surface
Like troubled water running cold
Well, time can heal, but this won't" I sang into the mic, turning to Dani who then joined in with me on the chorus. Our eyes never leaving each other.
"So, before you go
Was there something I could've said
To make your heart beat better?
If only I'd have known you had a storm to weather
So, before you go
Was there something I could've said
To make it all stop hurting?
It kills me how your mind can make you feel so worthless
So, before you go" We sang together, our voices blending better than I thought they would but hers still trumped mine with her high notes.
We continued singing the rest of the song and I took my chances. I brought a hand up to her face and brought her to mine, kissing her sweetly. Her hand trailing to the back of my head. We broke away from the kiss and she stood up. I grabbed my chair and set it back down in its original place.
Sam clapped a hand to my shoulder and shook me lightly.
"You didn't mention that part." He whispered to me as Clint changed up the tune of his piano playing to fit Dani's last song. I watched as she took a deep breath and focused solely on me. She mentioned earlier that there was one song in particular that she was sure of doing tonight. I'm not sure if either of the two she's already done were it. She made it seem incredibly special to her. This must be it.

"Early in the morning I still get a little bit nervous
Fighting my anxiety constantly, I try to control it
Even when I know it's been forever I can still feel the spin
Hurts when I remember and I never wanna feel it again
Don't know if you get it 'cause I can't express how thankful I am
That you were always with me when it hurts, I know that you'd understand..." She started. I knew instantly this is the one she was talking about. I also knew... this song is for me.
"I don't wanna lose control
Nothing I can do anymore
Tryin' every day when I hold my breath
Spinnin' out in space pressing on my chest
I don't wanna lose control" She continued singing into the chorus. Her eyes welling with tears, but not once faltering away from mine.
"Go, Buck. You go hold her and let her sing to you. Do not leave her up there alone for this." Sam said, realizing just as quickly as I did that this song was written for me.
I took in a deep breath and stood up, taking the big step up to the stage and put my hands on her waist, turning her to face me. Our bodies facing sideways to our audience. She smiled as she sang, the tears in her eyes falling down her cheeks. I reached one of my hand sip to brush them away gently.
As she came to the end of the song, I pressed my forehead to hers. Ready to collide my lips into hers again. This time in a different way. In a way that tells her I am hers. Only hers. I could feel tears of my own beginning to slip. Because.. not only do these lyrics hit home for her.. but also with me.
She let the mic drop to the ground and put her hands on either side of my face, using her thumbs to wipe away my own tears. That's when I kissed her again. Hard. As if I had lost all the oxygen in my body and she provided it.
Everyone was quiet. All I could hear was the sound of her heart beating in tune with my own. I had moved the hand on her face to the back of her neck, deepening the kiss even more than what it already was.
As we pulled apart, that's when everyone started clapping. Clint walked up, blocking everyone's view of us.
"That was the most beautiful performance I have ever seen. You two should go somewhere private, take a moment to talk about the obvious love that you share for one another. Don't you dare lie to me and tell me it's not there cause this entire room just witnessed it twice. Go." He said and guided us off the platform. I took her hand in mine and we walked to my room. Once inside, I closed the door and immediately pressed her back against it. Colliding my lips with hers again. I slid a hand up her back. I bent slightly, using my metal arm to lift her up. Her legs wrapping around my waist and her arms wrapping around my neck, one of her hands holding the back of my neck.
After a few moments of us being like that, I finally set her back down to her feet and broke away from the kiss. I took her hand in mine and spun her around, getting a personal spin around of her dress up close.
"You really are beautiful." I said and she smiled up at me.
"As for that song.. thank you. You wrote something that I know hit home for you, but it also hit home for me. After the whole winter soldier thing, I constantly battle myself in fear that I'll lose control again. Your song put all that into words I have never been able to piece together for myself." I said, sitting down on my bed. She walked around my room for a bit, looking at the few possessions I have in here before she sat down beside me.
"I know.. that's why I wrote it. We both needed something to say what we go through every single day without revealing the whole truth." She said and took my hand in hers.
"I have something to ask you and I'm at least 90% sure I already know what the answer is but I need to ask it anyway." I said and she adjusted herself to face me, her knee against mine.
"What is it, Bucky?" She asked.
"Will you go out with me? Be my girlfriend?" I asked and watched as her face broke out into a smile, her eyes sparkling.
"Of course I will." She said and stood up to move in front of me, putting her hands on each side of my neck and leaning in to kiss me.
"We should probably get back out there. Tony is throwing the party for me." She said and started to pull away but I pulled her back, causing us to both fall back against my bed.
"One more." I said and pulled her face down to like, kissing her sweetly once more before we both got up and went back out to the party.