Never Safe

Chapter Sixty-Eight

Bucky was going to train with Steve in the morning. They were going to meet in the gym at eight. Bucky was up at seven so he could have something to eat first.

He stopped by your room on the way to the kitchen to see whether, by some miracle, you were up that early. He was going to offer to make you breakfast if you were. But you weren't in your room. It was empty. And even more surprising than that, it was clean. Almost everything had been put away. The boxes that once held your stuff were now thrown onto your bed. There were two that weren't unpacked, but Bucky recognised the stuff poking out of them as his.

He turned and left your room and resumed his path to the kitchen. You were in there, sat at the table looking at something. A book.

"Hey assface" Bucky greeted kindly as he went to make himself a cup of coffee.

"Hey Bucket" you muttered back as you turned over a page.

"I saw you finally cleaned your room. Only took you like half a decade to do as your told."

"Mhm."

The coffee machine finished filling the jug so Bucky poured some into his cup and came to join you at the table. "What you looking at?" he asked as he lowered himself into the chair next to you. 

"I found it." You moved the book so it was between the two of you. It was a photo album. Every picture in it was black and white, clearly very old. You were currently examining a photo of a young girl, about six or seven. She was in a dress, sitting on a swing. She had a great big grin on her face.

"Do you know who that is?" Bucky asked. You looked up at him with a smile.

"It's mom."

He nodded and turned onto the next page. He gave you time to take in each photo before turning the page again. And again. You found photos where she looked older, about your age.

"See, you look just like her." 

The smile on your face grew wider at Bucky's comment. It made him smile too. As you continued to look through the album, Bucky gently brushed some hair out of your face, tucking it behind your ear. That's when he noticed the bags under your eyes.

"When exactly did you clean your room?"

"This morning."

"When did you wake up?"

"Early."

"You're not tired?"

"No."

"Hungry? I can make you something?"

"No, I'm okay. I'll have something later."

"Sure?"

"Yeah, I'm good."

"Alright then."

Bucky got up to make his own breakfast, leaving you at the table. When you finished the album, you pushed it to one side. You had two more albums stacked one on top of the other next to you on the table. You took one and opened it.

'James Buchanana Barnes' was written on the first page. You grinned as you discovered and searched through his baby photos.

By the time Bucky had prepared himself a plate of food and reclaimed the seat next to you, you'd reached the pictures of his early teens. He silently looked over your shoulder as he started eating.

Steve seemed to be in almost every photo. He was so small; he seemed tiny compared to Bucky. In some photos, there was someone else. A girl. You knew who she was. Bucky had told you a lot about your half sister, Rebecca. You'd never met her, but you'd always wanted to. And Bucky said she always wanted a sister, so she would've wanted to meet you too.