Monster

Twenty-Four

The house was quiet, and I couldn't sleep. I hoped that if Bucky left, I'd at least hear the door open, but there were no sounds in the hall. And it unnerved me to be sitting there with nothing but the sound of my own ears ringing.

I was still awake when I heard the door open downstairs. I bolted upright just in case Bucky panicked too. He must have heard it because I doubted he was a heavy sleeper. If he bothered to sleep at all. I knew it was Steve just by the way he moved around the house, doing his usual check to make sure there was no one lurking in any shadows. Then he was on the stairs. I listened for the sound of movement from across the hall, but heard nothing.

When the bedroom door opened, Steve stepped in and found me already sitting up, waiting in the dark.

"Hey," he said when he noticed me. He peeled off his jacket and hung it over the back of the chair by the window. "I decided to sleep here for a few hours if that's okay. I have to head out early."

"Of course. I need to talk to you, though." He paused and finally turned back to me. The question was already on his face, and I nodded to confirm it. He pulled his shoes off and slid them neatly under the armchair. Then he sat on the chair to face me.

"He came back," he stated.

"He's in the other room actually. As far as I know, anyway. I don't think he managed to sneak out. It's hard to tell with him. He's deadly silent when he wants to be."

"How'd you convince him to stay?"

"He showed up at the diner today. He was worried about what happened with my car and wanted to check in. Talbot has an agent on me, by the way. He figured her out before I did. She's another waitress at the diner. Morgan. No, wait. She said her name was Marion. Anyway, he was uncomfortable, so I brought him here. I let him use your things again if that's okay."

"It's fine."

"I told him to at least stay the night. And we talked–about what you suspect." His eyebrows rose in question. "And I sort of told him the truth."

"What do you mean?"

"I told him that I worked for SHIELD and I'm not really your girlfriend."

"Why?"

"Because I want him to trust me. I think he's making progress, and if the only reason he thinks he can't come here is because of some fake relationship, I want him to know it's not an issue. And apparently, he already knew because he mentioned your girl in New York. He just didn't know what my feelings were about the situation." He sighed and turned away from me. The room was filled with the dim light of the neighbor's porchlight.

"I didn't want to get her involved in this."

"Why didn't you say anything about her?"

"It's complicated."

"But you love her."

"I don't know. I can't say that she loves me back. Like I said, it's complicated."

"I don't think you need to worry about her being in danger. He just said he knew about her." He nodded.

"She can take care of herself."

"My point is that he already figured it out. He said he could tell I was a soldier. He knows more than we give him credit for."

"He was always sharp. Intuitive. They probably exploited that."

"I'm sorry I didn't call you. I wanted to, but he asked me not to."

"So did he confirm he has a thing for you?" he asked with a smile. I chewed on the inside of my lip, hesitating to tell him what I suspected.

"He might. But I told him it wasn't the right time, and he agreed."

"Good."

"Yeah." I wasn't sure if I really agreed. Believed it was true, yes. But agreeing on an emotional level? No. Because it felt nice to be seen. Even though it was probably for the best that we never acted on it.

"I guess that means I don't have to stay over anymore."

"You can still be close by. He needs you around. He only came here because I was a link to you."

"I will. I'll talk to him tomorrow." He got up and came around the side of my bed to steal an extra pillow. "Mind if I take this to the couch?"

"You don't have to sleep on the couch. It's not like one more night will make a difference. Besides, I've gotten kind of used to you being around." He let out a short laugh, and the tension seemed to drain from his shoulders. The lie must have been stressing him out too. He might not get much sleep, but he could at least be honest now.

"The couch is fine," he said. "I'll be downstairs if you need anything." Then he slipped into the hallway and shut my door.