Radioactive | Bucky Barnes

THE AVENGERS: CHAPTER TEN

"I'll be okay."

"You gotta promise me you'll be okay."

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Rhiley fought the urge to wince as she shifted her weight. Her body was still healing, but she wasn't about to let anyone see how much pain she was in. She had been through worse. She could push through this, too. After all, none of her ideas had ever been great. But this one? This one was necessary. She needed to find James, and that was more important than any of the aches and bruises lingering on her body.

Physically, she'd be fine. Eventually. Mentally, though? She wasn't sure. The guilt still gnawed at her. She should have made James promise he'd be okay, too. But she had been so focused on saving everyone else that she never imagined that could be their last moment together. It wasn't over, though she would find him. She had to.

"Rhiley?"

Steve's voice broke through her thoughts, pulling her back to the present. She looked up from where she sat, cross-legged on the base of a fallen tree. "Are we all set?" she asked before stopping when she saw Steve's gesture for her to stay where she was.

"Almost," Steve replied, pointing to the spot next to her. "Can I?"

"If you want," Rhiley shrugged, and for a moment, neither of them spoke.

"I'm glad it was you who got the serum," Rhiley said after a beat. It was something that had been weighing on her for a while. If she couldn't have had it, at least someone who deserved it did.

"I thought it would be different," Steve sighed, staring down at his hands.

"What do you mean?" Rhiley asked, cracking a smile. "Didn't expect all this?" She gestured to the muscles that strained against his shirt.

"I didn't expect to be paraded around like a show pony," Steve said, his frustration evident. "I should've been out there on the front lines. I should've been there to help. I haven't done a single thing for this country yet, and now my best friend is."

"Misplaced." Rhiley's voice was quiet but firm. She felt a tightness in her chest at the thought of James. "He's okay, Steve." She looked away, the weight of guilt suddenly overwhelming her. "I'm sorry I didn't protect him."

"This wasn't your fault, Rhiley," Steve said, his voice comforting but quick to pull back when he saw her side-eye him. "You did all you could."

"And how do you know that?" Rhiley scoffed, looking at him with skepticism. "You don't know me."

"Because I spent the entire convention looking for you." Steve's tone was gentle, though a little embarrassed.

"What?" Rhiley asked, genuinely confused. "Why?"

"Why do you think?" Steve chuckled. "Bucky couldn't stop talking about the mysterious girl he'd run into. He described you in great detail. Honestly, that's how I knew who you were back at the training camp."

"Why didn't you say anything?" Rhiley raised an eyebrow.

"I don't do well talking to women," Steve said, a grin tugging at the corner of his mouth. "I didn't want to come off as a stalker. Imagine me saying, 'Hey, I know your facial features by heart, and that's why I know who you are. Oh, and by the way, my name is Steve.'"

"Yeah," Rhiley laughed, "I would have punched you."

"I've never seen Bucky like that before," Steve added.

"Like what?" Rhiley asked, intrigued.

"So smitten for a woman." Steve's grin widened.

Rhiley nodded slowly, looking down at her hands. "When I was helping him look for you, he talked so highly of you. I mean, yeah, he was annoyed, but—" She let out a soft laugh. "The moment I saw you on that training ground, I knew you wouldn't just be a great soldier. You'd be a remarkable human being. One that I would trust with my life."