Not Without You {Steve/Bucky Fic} COMPLETED

Chapter Twenty

LAST CHAPTER Y'ALL ASDFGHJKL I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH

Everything around him was hazy and abnormally bright.

Was he on the bus? How close was he to being with Steve again?

It hurt to open his eyes, so he squinted them shut.

Bucky heard a giggle beside him. He pried his eyes open and turned his head.

There, smiling and petting Scout, sat Luna.

The little girl saw that Bucky was awake and grinned. "Hi, Bucky Bear! "

Bucky didn't answer. He tried to sit up, bit couldn't muster up the strength. "Where. . . Where am I? Why aren't I on the bus? "

Luna's grin softened as she stroked the dog's head gently. "You'll be with Steve soon. I promise. "

"But. . . But what's going on? "

"Can I take Scout for a walk? I promise, by the time you wake up, he won't be hurting anymore. "

Bucky blinked, trying to grasp onto what was going on. So far, he remained clueless. "What do you mean? Where am I?"

The little girl scooted her body closer to him. "You're asleep. You'll wake up soon. Can I walk Scout now? It will take away his pain. "

Bucky was completely confused, his mind wandering in a maze of the thoughts, trying to figure out what was going on. He looked up and gazed into the girl's light blue eyes, and decided to trust her. He slowly nodded as he managed to move his body over to Scout, and gave the puppy a few pats on the top of his golden head. "You've been a good friend. " He whispered to the dog.

He wasn't sure why he felt the need to say that to the animal, it just seemed right.

Luna placed something in Bucky's hand, which happened to be the bear she had given him the first time they had met.

Bucky gave her a light smile, his head growing heavy, and his eyelids closing down. "Thank you. " He whispered as his head fell back and he was no longer conscious.

Luna leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on the man's forehead.

The little girl stood back up, and began to walk away, Scout following happily behind her.

******************

It hurt Steve to watch Bucky sleep.

It was one of the few times that his friend looked truly at peace and content, like he didn't have a care in the world.

Bucky Barnes looked comfortable.

And it scared Steve.

Watching the other man look so at peace made Steve fear he would never want to wake up.

That was how he felt when he would visit Bucky in T'Challa's palace, when Bucky was in cyro freeze.

And that's how he felt now.

A doctor walked behind Steve, his footprints as even as Bucky's heart monitor. The man placed his hand on Steve's shoulder. "Mr. Rogers? May I speak to you? "

Steve nodded, reluctant to leave Bucky's side, but followed the doctor always.

He followed the man into the hallway, the scents of cleaning supplies tickling his nose. He sat down in a chair across from the doctor.

"So what exactly happened? " Steve asked, his voice firm. He was trying so hard to keep himself together at the moment.

The doctor sighed, tapping his pen on the clipboard he constantly kept in his hands. He looked up and met Steve's eyes. "Mr. Barnes was shot. It seems he was boarding a bus in Rhode Island when several bullets pierced his back. If it weren't for his enhanced body due to the experimenting Mr. Barnes has underwent, I'm afraid he wouldn't have made it. "