Taming The Ghost

Chapter 17

A/N: I'll be putting this story on hold for a while until my exams are over and I need some time to think about what direction I want to take this story in. I hope you all understand :)

I had been at Stark Tower for almost a month and I rarely saw Tony. Usually, when he wasn't dragging me to his elaborate parties that I didn't want to be at, he was hidden away in his lab or in a meeting. I only ever saw him when he wanted something or when we bumped into each other in the kitchen on our way to get a midnight snack. In hindsight, this was a good thing because, when I wasn't filing his paperwork, doing his grocery shopping and figuring out his expenses, I could do whatever I wanted. I had full access to his state of the art gym, games room filled with every type of console and game you could ever dream of, kitchen, and, of course, my bedroom where I could bundle up, watch Netflix, and ignore the outside world. That is where I was at this moment: Half way through American Horror Story: Coven with a tub of Ben and Jerry's cookie dough ice cream in my hands with no cares in the world when, suddenly, I began to hear tapping on the window. At first I thought it was some kids messing with me, but then I remembered that I was twelve floors above the hustle and bustle of New York City. There's no way any kids could get up here. With suspicion arising in my stomach, I paused the episode I was on, gently placed my ice cream on the mahogany bed-side table and got up from my bed, approaching the balcony doors which were currently covered by closed burgundy curtains.

Cautiously, I pulled back the edge of the heavy fabric and exposed the outside world, all bright lights and car horns, and I realised as my eyes slowly adjusted that a dark, towering shadow was stood there.
"Who's there?" I called out, retreating steadily to retrieve the hand gun that I kept in my drawers for emergencies, still facing whoever was on my balcony with every step I took.
"Laura, it's me. I need to talk to you." came a quiet, deep voice. The shadow moved forward slight and I pulled the gun from behind my back, moving closer to the glass and holding it up with my hand on the trigger. "Woah, woah! Laura, put the damn gun down. It's me. It's Bucky." The voice was a bit louder this time, muffled slightly still by the door. Immediately, my grip loosened on the trigger, but I held my arm firm in case this was a trap.
"Prove it." I said firmly. Again, the figure inched closer and, as the light began to catch it, its left arm glinted silver. One by one, features appeared. First a mouth, then nose, and, finally, a pair of eyes so blue they could rival the ocean. "Oh my God..." I whispered to myself, throwing my gun onto the bed and rushing to unlock the door and yank it open, allowing him to come inside.

As soon as he was in I practically threw myself at him. I don't know what came over me but what I was doing felt so good. It felt right.
"Hey." he chuckled in my left ear
"Hey." I whispered back, just enjoying being with him for a moment before I started to question him. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"I was going insane in that place. After you left they hardly let me out of that cell. They even cut off my therapy sessions. I just sat there staring at the wall with my thoughts. I asked if I could have a phone call but they didn't let me." he explained
"Who would you have called if they'd let you? You don't have anyone's number."
"I don't know. Some part of me was hoping they'd have called you for me to talk to if I'd have asked."
"Buck, they got rid of me for a reason. It was so we'd never see or talk to each other again. They'd probably have let you call anyone, hell, they might've even let you call the President if I wasn't on the other end." I chuckled. "How did you get here anyway? It's freezing outside and that facility isn't even on the map so you couldn't have gotten a taxi."
"I, um, took one of the trucks from the facility." he said sheepishly
"What, the artillery trucks?"
"No, no, of course not. There was a stash of pick-ups in the basement. I managed to get away from the guards when they took me to the showers."
"Jesus Christ." I sighed, my arms still draped around his neck "You know they're going to be looking for you, right? And you can't stay here. Tony's bound to want something sooner or later and when he does, he'll come up here and find you."
"I know."
"So what're you going do?" I asked, concerned
"I haven't exactly figured that out yet." he confessed
"What?!" I exclaimed, dropping my arms to my side and lowering my voice once I remembered that Tony could walk by my room at any time. "You mean to tell me you got here with no plan?!"
"Well... I was kind of hoping you'd come with me when I got here." Bucky said sheepishly.
"Buck, that's a massive thing to hope when you haven't even asked me about it."
"That's why I wanted to talk to you on the phone but since they wouldn't let me. We're going to have to do it here."
"We can't talk here. That's a no go. Tony could come in at any time, find you and send you back to Steve. We'll have to do it somewhere else."
"Where? And when? Because I don't have much time before they figure out I'm missing and I have to move." I sighed at his desperation.
"One second." I requested before turning my head and calling out "JARVIS, where's Tony?"
"Mister Stark is in the elevator on his way to your room, Miss Jones."
"What?!" I exclaimed in shock "Why?"
"I informed him that you have an unregistered visitor. As he is not meant to be here and did not enter through the main entrance, it is my duty to inform Mister Stark of his presence." the A.I. explained. Worry and panic shook me as I heard the faint ping of the elevator opening down the hall.

"Bucky, you have to go. Now." I said urgently, nudging him towards the balcony doors. "Meet me by the lake in Central Park at 9:30 tomorrow morning. That's when I head out to get Tony his groceries, we can talk then."
"Ok," he said, rushed "See you then." And before he could get another word out of his mouth, I slammed the door shut and drew the curtains closed just in time to hear a brief knock on the door and turn around to see Tony barging in.
"Alright, where is he and how did he get in?" Stark questioned.
"What the hell Stark?!" I acted up "I could have been naked and you just barge in like that unannounced!"
With my accusation, Tony saw my point and apologized. "Where's who anyway?" I asked, playing dumb
"I don't know. JARVIS said there was someone up here who shouldn't be."
"Well, then, I think you might need to check his surveillance system to make sure it's working properly because there was no one up here."
"Yeah, um, sure. I'll check it tomorrow. When have I got some free time?"
"Give me a second and I'll find out." I replied walking over to my bedside table and pulling out my planer with all of Tony's appointments in. "Umm... How does two o' clock sound?"
"Sounds good, thanks." he said making a move to leave and then lingering by the door to say "Oh, and I have a really long grocery list for tomorrow so prepare for a lot of walking." he grinned.
"Or I could just go on the subway." I laughed, causing him to do the same before he shut my door and went back to whatever he was doing. As soon as he left, I let out a breath that I didn't even know I was holding in and flopped back onto my bed, relived that I managed to cover for myself and divert the conversation.

For the rest of the night I was on edge, thinking about what Bucky had asked me. If I went with him I could monitor his progress and help him but I'd also risk losing my job. Why did I always have to make the tough decisions?