Animalia // Barnes

Epilogue

Melony Vandenberg stands in the middle of the hull in the quinjet, cold air nipping at her bare skin. Her long arms wrap themselves around her torso, golden eyes drifting to the tiled ground. She pulls the sleeve of her hoodie further over her fingers, trying to keep warm. Sadness fills her being, along with confusion. Her mind begs to leave this prison that is her life, but her heart longs to stay with Bucky, seemingly the only person she cared for when she was still Animalia.

I feel wrong against her skin, just like how the air feels wrong to breathe. The world feels as if it is suffocating her, smothering her small flame in order to stop an inferno. She constantly scratches at her hands, trying to rub away the long-gone blood of HYDRA agents. Guilt is riddled through her heart, the events of the past few weeks making her conscience heavy and long a bullet to the brain.

She worries for her recent companion, Lee, who's stuck in surgery with an old friend, Sam Wilson, by her side. Her mind is broken, memories scattered and tainted, the only happy memories being too far away to reach once more. Her soul hopelessly clutches at her mind, trying to evoke some sort of lingering feeling other than the nagging in her heart.

Bucky Barnes walks into the hull, a weak smile on his face. "Hey." He says, gaining the redhead's attention. His stance is relaxed compared to normal, with hands in his pockets and hair tied into a ponytail. Mel's gaze wanders towards her guardian, her enemy. "Hey." She responds, feeling as if the weight of the world pulling on her shoulders, towards the pits of hell. This man makes her life feel so much more difficult. If she thought it was complicated before, her relationship with Bucky Barnes made it that much more confusing. She felt a strange longing to be in his embrace, and a strong urge to run as far away as possible from the near-stranger. She knew they had complicatedly entwined pasts, but the future was uncertain for her.

They stand in silence for a while, Mel looking toward the ground while Bucky scans her face, searching for the sarcastic woman he once knew. "Are you alright?" He asks, his voice laced with concern. Mel sighs, voice shaky, biting her lip. "Not really, Bucky. I can't stay here anymore." She says. "I've killed a man who everyone keeps telling me is my best friend, my sister, I abandoned Lee, I'm in a plane with a bunch of strangers and the world wants me dead. Staying with your friends just isn't the right thing for me to do right now. I need to leave, to sort my life out, y'know?"

Bucky nods, the feeling all too familiar with him. "I can't do that here. I need to disappear for a few months, be under the radar. God, I don't even know why I'm telling you this. I don't even know you." Mel says, still looking at the ground.

"You really do Melony. You just can't remember. We were close for a long time. I understand if you aren't ready to talk, I've been in the same situation as you, but I want you to know that I'm here for you."

Mel sighs. "Then I think you deserve to know that I'll be leaving in an hour. I'm not telling anyone where I'm going. I'm just going to leave. I hope you respect my wishes and don't tell your friends about it or track where I'm going."

Bucky'a gaze softens even further, his heart breaking for his old lover. After a few moments, he speaks.

"Take me with you."

Mel's expression turns into one of surprise, her golden eyes looking directly into Bucky's. "Y-you would leave all of this behind, for me? Why would you do that? I-I'm a monster. Melony even said it herself. I'm a gräu- I'm a-" She says, her voice breaking, tears filling her eyes. Bucky raises his real hand to cup her cheek, running his thumb over her cheekbone. "I would do anything for you, Mel."

Mel leans into Bucky's touch, closing her eyes and holding his hand with hers. "Thank you for not making me do this alone." She says. He smiles, pulling her into a warm hug, her red hair spilling over her shoulders and onto his chest.

"I couldn't do that to you."