the team doctor || bucky barnes (EDITING IN PROGRESS)

38.

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ꜱᴏɴɢ: ᴛʜᴇ ꜰɪɴᴀʟ ꜰɪɢʜᴛ - ᴄᴏɴᴀɴ ɢʀᴀʏ

 "𝐈'𝐦 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐫." 

~

TWO MONTHS LATER

"Peter, I'm sure she likes you back."

"But that's the thing! She kind of just does this whole broody thing and I have no idea where I stand--"

Valerie sighed, setting her pen down. "Peter, why don't you just ask her? Now, I really need to get back to this report."

"Alright, I'll talk to you about it tomorrow in our session."

She smiled as he happily marched out of her office.

She had been seeing Peter as a patient since their week together. That didn't stop him from coming in to see her on his own time. She didn't mind, however. He had slowly started to fill in this sibling role for her.

She chewed on her pen, staring at the report in front of her. Her eyes fluttered close as she tried her hardest to focus. Today was one of those rough days.

Two months ago, the Avengers swore they'd get Bucky back. Since then, they didn't have a single lead.

The first two weeks were the hardest. Valerie cried her weight in tears every night, succumbing to her own nightmares with no one to ease them. She spent countless nights staring at the stars out her window, wondering if he was looking at the same ones. After a month, she began to come to terms with the possibility he would never come back.

From her training as a psychologist, she knew all about grief. But not any of her classes told her how hard it is when the grief is your own. The Avengers rallied behind her, trying anything to lift her spirits. The bubbly, witty doctor they knew had begun to grow quieter, simply treating them without conversation or jokes and didn't come to the common area as much.

She grew even closer with Wanda, who had a lot of knowledge to share on grief as she lost her twin brother. She strayed from Steve, who only reminded her of what she lost.

The effort to find him was nothing if not extravagant. At first, they spent days and nights tracking any lead they could. They deployed on missions if they got even the slightest scent of MONA activity. It all led to nothing. Every time they'd leave, Valerie would sit in the common area and wait for them to return. The images of their disappointed faces started to engrain in her mind.

Steve noticed her distance. If he was being honest, he didn't mind it. Although he missed his friend, he grew tired of constantly disappointing her. He hated giving her a shred of hope only to snatch it away.

"Maybe she needs a distraction," Natasha said one night in the common area. "Do we have anyone we can set her up with?"

"What, are you crazy?" Steve scoffed. "You think she could even humor anyone else?"

"She's heartbroken," Wanda added.

"I just hate seeing her sad. She doesn't deserve it,"

"That's why we need to find the bastard," Sam sighed. "Do we have anything?"

"There was a ping in Switzerland, but it didn't go anywhere,"

"Where the hell are they hiding? I mean, the earth is only so big,"

Steve tapped his chin. "Have we considered they possibly aren't...on it?"

"Where the hell would they go? And how?"