We'll Meet Again...I Know When || Bucky Barnes x Reader

22 || Lil' Wiz

Silence isn't always a bad thing, however there's a substantial difference between peaceful tranquility and suffocating strain. Unfortunately, you're stuck with the latter which is making your nerves feel like a trampoline park.

It had been heartbreaking as you helped Tony to his feet, ignoring his stubborn refusal to accept your aid while he attempted to shove you away and stand on his own. It was useless in the end, forcing him to reach a compromise by allowing you to help him into another, warmer room where there's at least a bench he can rest on compared to his former place on the floor.

You feel ashamed for letting things get this far. Each second, you replay today's events in your head, pointing out every little crossroad where you could have possibly done something different just to change the turnout.

Maybe you should've confirmed Tony actually knew about Hollie and parents' deaths instead of assuming Steve already did so. You shouldn't have let that video play. The second you realized what it was going to be about, you should've destroyed the screen and thus prevented Tony from having to see such a horrible thing. You could've done more to prevent the fight that took place afterwards even if that meant risking your own safety by physically getting in between everyone.

'...There are so many things you could've done differently...'

After radioing for someone to come pick you guys up, you search the facility for medical equipment. Tony's injuries aren't fatal, but it'll be awhile before anyone can get here and he might feel a little better once bandaged up. This is what you tell yourself anyways, truly just hoping for a way to distract yourself because maybe then your hands will stop shaking so violently.

You had pretty much forgotten all about Zemo until reentering that main room you had encountered him in originally. What was his plan again? To turn the Avengers against each other as revenge? Well, he succeeded and he probably used the aftermath as a distraction to make his escape. Who knows where he went or if you'll ever have to look at his sorry ass again? Regardless of how much hate you've felt towards him all day, you can't be bothered to care anymore...He's the least of your concerns right now.

The suffocating silence continues when you return to Tony with a medical kit. Again, he tries shooing you away, however you remain just as stubborn despite the calm and patient tone you fight to maintain with him.

'Besides, he has every right to hate you. You helped Bucky - the man who murdered nearly the whole Stark family. You, a close friend, betrayed him until the last second.'

"I'm surprised you didn't go with them since you've seemed so keen on defending Barnes's ass all the time," Tony observes bitterly, refusing to even look at you as you dab his face with a cotton-ball.

You can only sigh, "...I didn't want things to go the way that they did. I didn't want anyone to get hurt like this -"

"- Well, it's a little too late for that, don't you think? Forty two years too late, in fact."

Frowning, you set the bloodied cotton ball down, redirecting your eyes to the medical kit to check what bandages are inside, but your mind is too jumbled to properly look through them. You scan the box several times, yet you can't seem to remember what you just looked at which results in your eyes going back over each item a second and third time. Eventually a forth, too.

"Bucky regrets what happened -"

"- As you keep saying -"

"- When he first remembered Hollie's death, he was devastated - inconsolable even. He's never denied his guilt or his role in it. He believes himself to be just as responsible for what happened as you think he is. Nothing I've tried saying has been able to change that," you explain foolishly as if Tony will share your pain. He doesn't.