"I am not against slapping a bitch."
"Be serious."
"I am being serious."
"I just thought maybe you could think about it," He tried, "It'd give you better opportunities."
"Steve, do you even remember my last mission before that night?"
"It was tough, I know, but I just thought-"
"It was a set up!" You shouted, throwing your hands out, and his face fell, "SHIELD was using me and when I became a problem, when I dug a little too deep, they tried to dispose of me like the rest!"
He took your words right to his heart, processing what you were telling him, and anger flashed over his features before he grabbed his coat off the back of the chair nearby.
"Where are you going?" You asked as he reached for the door, but it didn't slow him down.
"Out." He told you shortly, his voice low and dangerous, so you didn't push.
Not that you would've had the chance since he was already gone, slamming the door behind him.
You cursed yourself, wishing you had just kept that information to yourself, but he wanted you to come clean. He wanted you back fighting by his and the others' sides on the field where he knew you thrived. He only wanted the best for you and now that the DBs and Kellers are either dead or in maximum security prison, he thought this would be the time. Not to mention, your identity is up in the air with a partial view of your face all over the news, so they're bound to figure it out sooner or later and he thought you might want it on your terms.
You did miss being assigned missions and putting some good back into the world like the old days, but SHIELD is corrupt and there's definitely some friends of the Kellers still working in the organization. Staying dead for as long as possible or at least until you had a better plan was the safest bet for now.
"He took a mission," Bucky told you with a small shrug, "...I think."
You, Wanda, Bucky, and Sam were all sitting on the floor of the apartment eating Chinese food from the containers. When Steve left that morning, you thought he'd just blow off some steam and return, but it was now almost ten the following night and it was safe to say you were worried. You wanted to call Natasha, but you didn't want Steve to be put in the awkward position of having to explain your 'not so dead death' to even more people, especially one of his best friends.
"Nat and Tony went with him." Sam added, confirming he had gone on a mission.
"This is all my fault," You leaned your head back against the bottom of the couch with a groan, "I just shouldn't have opened my big mouth."
"He needed to know," Wanda offered sincerely, "And if he's angry you didn't tell him, then maybe it's a good thing he's taking it out on a mission instead of just brooding in this tiny apartment."
"I like what you did with it by the way," Bucky told you, looking around, "Much less depressing."
You smiled with a small nod to him before your face fell again when you glanced down at the food in your hands.
"Do you think I'm smothering him?" You couldn't help but to ask, "Making him keep secrets, only seeing him in this room...we can't even go on dates unless the sun's down," You chuckled darkly, wiping at your eyes when you accidentally let a few tears slip, "I feel like we're just sitting around waiting for the inevitable fight to happen and then that'll be it," You let out a deep breath, "I'll lose him for good and he'll hate me forever."
"Where's this coming from?" Sam asked softly when it was quiet for a moment.
"I made him believe I was dead for months," You sniffled, "And I never gave him a full explanation, just bits and pieces, and I hurt him. I can't imagine if it was reverse, but did I even apologize properly?" You raised your eyebrows with a sarcastic smirk, "Words only go so far, and I've just been keeping him here like some sort of...pet."
"You're wrong," Bucky told you sternly, snapping everyone's attentions to him, "He loves you and he understands," He seemed to be speaking from a place of truth, like Steve confided in him, "You were never a simple person to begin with, but I think he always liked that about you. I remember the first time I noticed-"
"The party," Sam jumped in with a knowing smile, chuckling to himself with a nod, "He said he likes a woman who challenges him," Then he smirked, peering over at you, "And guess who he was looking at when he said it."
"But when does a challenge become a chore?" You asked them, taking a sip of your drink afterwards.
"He needed to know," Wanda insisted, putting a hand on your knee and rubbing it comfortingly, "I'm sure it didn't come out how you wanted, but it's out and now when he comes back, you'll have a better conversation and be able to move past it, okay?"
"Okay," You nodded to her and then smiled over at them, "Thanks guys."
"Anytime, L/n." Sam winked, and you wiped your cheeks, raising your eyebrows.
"Okay, who wants cheesecake?" You laughed at yourself, feeling out of place with the deep talk.
"Chinese and cheesecake?" Bucky put his hands up, "What'd we do to deserve this special treatment?"
"Is that a good combo?" Wanda asked with a wince, laughing after Sam pointed at her in agreement.
"How'd my wings treat you? Meant to ask."
"You're not getting them back, if that's what you're truly asking!" You called over your shoulder as you headed for the fridge.
"She's joking, right?" He asked them and when they gave him unsure looks, he glared at you, "You're joking, right?"
"Before Steve returned the helicopter," You smirked, pulling the container out, "I might've had them hidden."
"Hidden? What the hell?"
"You have another set, what's the big deal?" Bucky asked him with an amused grin and Sam's glare was now trained on the winter soldier.
"The big deal, Barnes, is that I like to have a spare," He huffed, "Why don't you mind your damn business?"
"Boys." Wanda warned.
"Well, maybe if you had gone to Russia and helped her, you would have your stupid wings back already!"
"She didn't tell me where she was going!" He yelled before he realized, "And what the fuck do you mean by 'stupid'?"
"Oh, I think you know!"
"Guys!" You called over, trying not to laugh, "The wings are safe, and I'll have them here in a few days if you wanna come pick them up, okay?"
"Thank you, Y/n." Sam smiled proudly, looking directly at Bucky who just shrugged with a smug smile.
"I say, you should keep them."
"You know what, metal boy?" Sam snapped.
"Metal boy?" You wondered quietly to yourself as they started bickering and Wanda gave up, coming over to you.
"Like a married couple." She rolled her eyes with a smile and you laughed.
"I'm surprised all three of you could get here so fast." You thought out loud, cutting her a slice that she waved off.
"It's not like you live a thousand miles away," She chuckled, "It was a quick drive."
"Oh, I meant with having to sneak around to get here."
"Um," She squinted, trying to remember if they took any precautions before just piling into Sam's car, "...Sure."
"Because if Tony knew..." You trailed off, picking up on the doubt.
"That would be-" She started when a car screeched to a stop outside the building, making everyone cease their conversations.
Less than two minutes later, there was a knock on the door, and you cringed when the billionaire said,
"You owe me-"
"A hug?" You offered when you swung the door open, cutting his sentence off.
"Fine," He huffed, his anger melting away at the sight of you, "Make it quick because I really need to yell at you."
You grabbed him into a hug and then led him inside, laughing at his current state of pouting before he grabbed a plate and helped himself to some cheesecake, calming down.
