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

49.

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ꜱᴏɴɢ: ᴀʙᴏᴜᴛ ʏᴏᴜ - ᴛʜᴇ 1975

"𝐈'𝐯𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐦𝐲 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐞."

~

THEY ONLY HAD A WEEK OF FREEDOM UNTIL ANOTHER MISSION CALLED.

For Valerie, she had never been happier to hear it. Avoiding him was hard when they were neighbors, ate at the same place, and had the same friends. Luckily for her, he didn't seem to hang around too much.

Good to know some things stayed the same, she thought.

She was having a difficult time finding things to do in her free time. Her options for friends were either teammates who only looked at her with pity or a sixteen-year-old boy. Almost seventeen. But still. So, she decided to start leaving the building. If she was being honest with herself, she found it quite refreshing. It had been so long since she had walked around Central Park or shopped in Union Square. She had forgotten how much she loved this city. When you work for the Avengers, your life becomes consumed by them.

That, and there's always a security risk.

Which is why she wasn't saying anything as she laced up her converse. To be fair, the only one who was always ultra-concerned with her safety was Bucky. And now, he didn't seem to be concerned with her presence at all. She straightened her sweatshirt before leaving her apartment. She only had to make it to the elevator, through the lobby, and she was free. This should have been easy since her floor only occupies herself and Bucky.

But of course it wasn't easy.

"Steve," She greeted nonchalantly.

"Valerie," He opened his mouth to continue before noticing her attire. "You have a bag,"

"Most women do," She flashed a toothy smile.

"Are you going somewhere?"

Fuck. "Yeah, I was going to just go for a walk. Clear my head, do some shopping. I'm running out of sweatshirts to wear,"

She hoped her confidence would somehow convince Steve to not make a fuss.

"Alone?"

"Steve," She laughed. "I've got my trusty mace with me."

"I'm not sure this is a good idea--"

"Please? It's been a really hard week,"

She didn't want to pull that card, but he was already pulling his phone out to text Tony.

"I'll be fine, you guys can't keep me in this tower forever. It's not in my contract."

"Okay, just--text me if you need anything, okay?"

She nodded quickly, hurrying to the elevator before he changed his mind. The lift descended dozens of floors, a rush she hadn't felt in months overcoming her. She almost forgot what the lobby even looked like. Employees bustled about as if business was as usual. About fifty steps were between her and the front door. She only had to take them.

The doors opened and the feeling of fresh air hit her. Not that New York City had a pleasant smell to begin with, but she was ecstatic to smell it. She couldn't remember the last time she had been outside. She began walking, wired headphones in her ears. As she clicked 'play' on her playlist, she allowed herself to float down the sidewalk toward the subway station. The sound of the 1975 filled her ears, a soundtrack to the movie that was her unfortunate life recently.

As she spent her afternoon moving around the city, she found that her mind was suddenly clear. She wasn't wrapped up in her sadness about Bucky, she wasn't wondering when he'd remember her. He wasn't on her mind at all, actually.