Never Ending | Marvel Black!OC | [in rewriting]

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN | PART B • Crystallized.

Following last chapter.

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Three steps into the room. That's all it took for Janet to fully realize the harshness of Bucky's words from a few minutes ago. The echo of them was still ringing in her ears, it felt like she'd walked straight into a wall she hadn't seen coming. Her armor crumbled in a single breath, one that broke into a sob before she could stop it. Without even thinking, she sank onto the edge of the bed.

His bed.

Despite everything, despite every reason she had not to, her feet had led her here, down a familiar path. Maybe not her feet but her mind. This was the room where she always felt safe, where his presence always was an anchor to her, and maybe even with what happened tonight, she still needed him to anchor her.

"Jan'..." Joanne's voice was soft, aiming for comfort. She crossed the room and sat beside her, her palm gliding gently along Janet's back. Her touch was a rhythm of care and warmth.

"I- I'm sorry, I just... don't get it?" Janet's voice cracked on the words, the tremor in it betraying just how hurt she was. Her shoulders shook violently, crying desperately. She looked like someone trying to hold a storm inside her own ribcage.

"It's okay" Joanne murmured. "There's nothing to get. Just breathe, okay? Honestly, I don't get either what crossed his mind to make him go... rogue like this, but... yeah..." Her tone was calm, but under it sat a tight coil of worry for Janet.

Janet let out a small, bitter scoff, wiping her tears with the sleeves of her blouse, trying desperately to rebuild her mask before it cracked further.

"Of course there's nothing to get," she spat, her voice rough. "Nothing to get unless that I'm a pathetic idiot who thought her work was worth any pride or celebration, and was getting drowned in illusions."

"No, no- hey, don't say that, Jan', come on. He didn't mean it like that. No one means that." Joanne took her hand, her grip firm but warm.

"What did he mean, then?" Janet snapped, yanking her hand free, voice trembling from anger and hurt.

Joanne's eyes softened but she sighed. She reached for Janet's hand again, gripping it tighter this time, her gaze locking onto hers like an anchor.

"Look, he's just... scared of losing you. Losing you to something he doesn't even understand. But-"

"Yeah, no one does understand" Janet cut in bitterly, closing her eyes for a second. Her chest clenched. The real wound wasn't just Bucky's words, it was this endless feeling of never being understood, never being seen. It was like everything she did was always a fight uphill, like she was the one who needed to adapt, conform, compromise all the time. It was exhausting.

"But," Joanne pushed on gently, "that doesn't mean he doesn't care about you. Or that he thinks you're weak. You just need to find a common ground here, you and him." she finished saying softly.

Janet let that sit for a second, steadying her breath before raising her eyes back to Joanne's, eyes reddened and tears still rolling down her cheeks.

"And if we can't? What am I supposed to do then?", she asked voice trembling. "What happens? Do I just accept it, or do we keep fighting like today, again and again? What happens to us?"

Joanne hesitated. She didn't have an answer.

Janet's gaze dropped to the nightstand, a fading picture of her and Bucky sitting on it, their grins wide and clueless of the current storm. She took it with trembling fingers, them brushing it like it held the answer she couldn't find. Her saddened face reflected slightly in the shine of it.