𝚜𝚞𝚖𝚖𝚎𝚛 𝚕𝚒𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚜 - 𝚋𝚞𝚌𝚔𝚢 𝚋𝚊𝚛𝚗𝚎𝚜

ghosts of the past

Your On Your Own, Kid - Taylor Swift

July 2017

Tony looked into Bucky's eyes with a weird scowl on his face. Bucky just sat stonefaced. After a few seconds passed of nothing happening, Bucky just raised his eyebrows expectantly. Tony had called him into the lab, locking the doors after he came in and soundproofing the room, basically isolating them from anyone else. He didn't tell him anything, instead making him sit in what looked like an interrogation, with a huge light facing his desk and a chair for Bucky across from him. The rest of the lights were turned off.

"Why did you lock me in here with you? And why are you dressed like a cartoon cop?" Tony was, in fact, wearing a cop costume from party city and had a donut and coffee on his desk, a fake belly sitting under his shirt.

"Dramatic effect, duh." Tony said it like it was obvious. "I want to show you something." Bucky didn't move or say anything, just sitting with his arms across his chest and his back leaned into the chair, manspreading to make room for his long legs. He had a blue henley on and his hair was in a low man bun by his neck. He looked lethal even with the weird girly hair that Tony always teased him about. Tony went to turn his projector on, but his arms couldn't reach over his fake beer belly. He struggled for a few seconds before telling FRIDAY to turn it on for him. Bucky just rolled his eyes.

"You look pathetic." Bucky just raised one of his eyebrows to the idiotic billionaire.

"Okay lumberjack, cool it with the insults. I'm trying to help you here." Tony took a deep breath before leaning on his elbows towards Bucky with a serious expression on his face. "What do you remember the night of the Show?" Bucky's eyebrows dropped, his face returning to the deadly glare he wore constantly.

"Why do you want to know?"

"So I can help you put the pieces together. Steve may not think this is good, but you aren't going to move on if you don't know what happened." Bucky sucked in a breath, shutting his eyes for a second. He tried his best to put together the murky images in his head.

"I keep dreaming about it. The screams were so fresh in my mind." Bucky looked down, popping his knuckles. "I remember going into the building, seeing everyone dressed fancy. Rich people in every corner. I remember the old ladies passing me, then me going-"

"What old ladies?" Tony cut him off rather rudely.

"They weren't important, just gossiping. Something about a girl with a gift from god, then complaining about the girl performing in a weird dress. Being judgemental." Tony had a somber look on his face. "What?" Bucky furrowed his brows.

"Keep going." Bucky just sighed through his whole body.

"I remember going to the room with the target, and shooting him." Bucky closed his eyes for a moment. "She was right next to him."

"Anything else?"

"I left as soon as it happened, and I heard her scream. I ran out to get in the getaway car when I heard her scream my name. I didn't know if she was talking to me, but it's like I needed to look back. I felt drawn to her voice. I remember the gunshot. I didn't shoot her Tony. I could never hurt her. She died, didn't she?" Bucky looked down and popped his knuckled once again. Tony didn't say anything for a second, and Bucky took it as a yes.

"Bucky, she didn't die." Bucky's head shot up at his words. "Something weird happened when she was shot." Bucky nodded his head for him to go on.

"The person who shot her was your backup agent, in case anything went wrong. He shot her because she knew your name. What they shot her with was a new experiment. The bullet had a serum in it." Bucky's heart dropped.