Never Safe

Chapter Fifty-Two

You weren't cuddling up to Bucky when he woke up. He sat up and opened his eyes to see you lying close to the edge of the bed, facing the wall. Bucky pulled the hair out of your face; your eyes were open.

"Hey" he said quietly. "How long you been awake?"

You didn't respond.

"You are awake, right?" he chuckled. "Y/n? Talk to me, are you alright?"

He shuffled closer and placed his hand on your shoulder. You elbowed him away from you. He instantly recoiled.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

You stayed silent. You turned your head, hiding your face in the pillow.

"Y/n? ... are you mad at me?" Bucky persisted. "Come on, talk to me." He stroked his hand up and down your arm. You stiffened at his touch.

Bucky sighed.

"Okay, y/n/n... are you gonna be alright if I go for a minute? I need to get you some food."

He got out of bed when you still didn't answer. "What would you like?" he asked, despite knowing he wasn't going to get a response. "Okay. I'll be back as quick as I can."

***

"Y/n, come on, you need to eat something."  

You hadn't moved at all. Bucky had returned with a bowl of cereal and had sat back down next to you. He was trying to get you to talk to him but you were still ignoring him.

"Please, my sweetheart, I need you to have just a little bit... have some food, y/n/n... I got you coco pops?"

Bucky didn't know what to do. He couldn't force feed you, and he couldn't force you to talk so you'd tell him what was going on. He assumed it was just everything. It was all too much for you. You didn't know how to cope with it; you were fifteen so you shouldn't know how to cope. You never should have gone through any of this. Bucky suddenly thought of something.

"This... this doesn't have anything to do with- with what you told me last night, and on the Quinjet... does it? ... y/n, if you don't say anything I'm gonna assume it is so could you please-" Bucky instantly stopped talking when his voice broke with worry. He coughed, clearing his throat. "Please talk to me."

You were listening to Bucky's words, not ignoring him and zoning out as he thought you were. But you had nothing to say, not just to him, but at all. You just didn't want to do it anymore.

You heard him tell you he was going to go, leaving you some time to rest, then come back later with lunch. You heard his footsteps walking away, and the sound of the door shutting.

Bucky paused outside the door, debating whether leaving you alone for a few hours was a good idea or not.

He decided it wouldn't matter if he was there or not. He couldn't think of anything else to say that would change your mind.

He needed someone else, someone that could help him. Bucky headed to his room for privacy before getting out his phone and calling her.

It rang for a few moments. Bucky sighed with relief when she picked up.

"Hey Bucky."

"Hi, May."

"Is everything alright? I haven't heard from you in a while? Did you speak to y/n?"

"Yeah, she's back home now."

"Oh, that's great."

"Yeah, I don't know."

"What's wrong?"

"Um... well, there's a lot to tell you... I was wondering if you could do me a favour?"

"Of course. Anything. What do you need?"

"It's- it's kind of a lot to ask because- because I know you have work and you have to look after Peter and I completely understand if you- you can't..."

"Bucky?"

"Can you come stay for a little while?"

"At the compound?"

"Yeah, like I said, it's a lot to ask you, to live somewhere else and take some days off work so I get it if you wanna say no... I just don't think I can do this on my own, May. I really need someone's help..."

Nothing came through the phone. Bucky regretted asking.

"You know what, never mind. I-"

"Sorry, Bucky, I was just telling Peter. We're gonna come over first thing tomorrow. Is that okay?"

Bucky couldn't help smiling. "Yes, May, thank you so much... Are you sure you don't mind?"

"Of course I don't mind. I've told you before, I'll always help when you need me to. Now, I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Thank you, May. See you tomorrow."

***

Later that day, Bruce came to visit you in your room. Bucky was sat beside you. He'd delivered you lunch about two hours ago. Neither of you had really moved since.

"Hey" Bruce smiled. "How we doing?"

Bucky turned his head in your direction. He looked back at Bruce. "She's not talking. Or eating or sleeping or anything... I don't know what to do" he admitted.

"We'll give her a little time" Bruce said. "She's been through so much, it makes sense that she's closed off a bit."

"But it's not exactly healthy."

"How did she sleep last night?"

"She had a bad dream but she went back to sleep. She woke up early and has been awake since then."

"And you said she's not eating?"

"I brought her breakfast, and lunch. She hasn't touched any of it. She hasn't moved the entire day."

"We should wait to see how she is tomorrow, and whether she sleeps tonight. I'm sure she'll get better. In the meantime, we still need to check and treat her injuries."

Bucky nodded as Bruce approached the bed. He stood up to give Bruce space.

"Y/n, please could you turn over so I can see the cuts and bruises on your face?" Bruce asked. "Y/n?"

He glanced at Bucky when he didn't get a response.

"Not moving" Bucky reiterated.

"Could you..."

Bucky turned his attention back to you. He sighed and sat next to you. He placed his hand on your back and gently brushed his thumb over your jumper. When you didn't say anything, his hand slid under your arm.

You realised he was going to pick you up. You flinched and he pulled away.

"Y/n? Are you gonna turn around?" Bucky questioned. He tried to move you again, but as soon as he touched you, you shoved him off. Bucky looked sorrowfully at Bruce.

"It's okay" Bruce said. "We can try again later. Do you wanna take care of what you can?"

"I can try."

Bruce left briefly, and returned with a couple ointments and creams. Bucky took the one that you'd been using for the burn on your neck. He brushed your hair over your shoulder. You shrugged it off, so it fell back in place.

"Y/n, come on, we need to take care of these... please? ... otherwise, they're not going to get better. They'll scar, y/n/n."

No matter what he said, he couldn't get a response from you. He looked to Bruce, but even he didn't know what to do. They decided to give in for the day.

Bruce left, but Bucky stayed until evening, and all night after that.