Tangled Paths | Bucky Barnes

Chapter 25: Blue Bug

25
Blue Bug

At some point in the morning, Sam had woken up and joined her. Darla took this as her opportunity to finally moved for the first time in a few hours. She stood up and stretched then yawned. At this point, her headache was gone and her body was completely healed minus her arm which was still a little sore.

Darla stumbled out back somewhere to use the bathroom then headed back inside. When she entered the back door of the old abandoned shop, Steve was standing there waiting for her.
" Hey, how did you sleep?" She asked him with another yawn as she pulled the door closed behind her and made sure it was secure.
"not the best if I'm being honest" Steve replied to her in a groggy sleepy tone.
" I know how you feel, I would kill for a coffee right now." Darla groaned as she ran a hand over her face. Steve smiled at her slightly.

"Can we talk for a few?" Steve asked her awkwardly.
"Sure, but we're talking in the old break room, I think I saw a case of water in there," Darla said as she moved past him and headed to the break room. Sam turned and looked at Steve with his arms crossed as he watched him follow her across the warehouse then sat down on a crate and started flipping through a car manual he'd found to kill time.

Darla walked into the break room where she and Sam's jackets were. She picked hers up off the floor and dusted it off before putting it back on with a small shiver. She ran her hands up and down her arms and looked around the break room trying to remember if she imagined the case or not before noticing it on the floor in the corner behind some chairs.

"Aha!" She said as she walked over to the corner and moved the chairs away to find the case of bottles. She picked it up and placed it on top of one of the three circular tables in the room. She pulled one out and sat in a chair and took a few drinks.
"much better." She said relaxing into her seat. Steve grabbed one too and sat across from her. He cracked the seal open and took a drink.

"So what did you wanna talk to me about?" She asked as she looked at him across the table. Steve looked down at his bottle. He thought back to the day after Sakovia when they sat at a table like this one when they went for drinks.
"I want to thank you. For always trying to take care of us. I know we all kind of have a knack for just rushing into danger and not thinking twice and bottling up our feelings until they explode..." He trailed off as he took another drink.
"How hard did that helicopter hit you?" Darla joked earning a grin from Steve as he looked at her.
"I don't know. As I said, I didn't sleep well last night and I spent half the night thinking." He explained.
"You don't need to thank me, Steve. you guys are my family." Darla explained for what seemed like the thousandth time.
"But I do... I don't voice my appreciation of you enough. I just want you to know I'm glad I have you." He said to her. Darla stared at him. She didn't know where any of this was coming from. She started thinking back to the conversation that she had had with Nat yesterday morning and put her water back to her lips. She looked away from him as she began to drink as she pushed back the building panic. No, that was stupid, Nat didn't know what she was talking about... She realized at this point that Steve was waiting for her to say something.
"thank you." She replied. It's been a really weird week and she just wanted it to be over Steve smiled at her.
" you're well-"
"Hey Cap!" Sam called from across the warehouse stealing both Steve and Darla's attention.
"He's awake," Darla said as she got up. Steve grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her back in place as he looked up at her.
"I go first." He said to her sternly. Darla gave him a sour look and a nod. Then Steve let go of her and the two headed over.

Darla didn't enter the room right away. She decided it best to wait outside while Steve went in with Sam.

"Steve?" Bucky asked disoriented as he looked around with a pained groan. He leaned closer to the Vice his arm was in an attempt to ease the burning pain in his shoulder and what was left of his left arm.