And they called it Bucky Love

Part 16 - The Aftermath

After making sure the bus was out of sight, I started to walk through the woods towards the compound, and almost immediately, nearly died of shock when I went past a tree only to find Tony leaning against it, hands in his pockets and eyes closed, looking for all the world like he was just out catching a few rays.

"So that went well then" " he said, and unfortunately, it wasn't the "I'm really pleased at how well that went" version, it was the "I'm being totally sarcastic and think that was a load of shit" version.

I felt slightly shocked, but prepared myself and decided to respond like for like.

"Yes, it did, didn't it".

I carried on walking past as if I hadn't a care in the world.

"Absolutely" was the reply, still dripping with sarcasm (Tony is very good at that – he practices a lot).

"Oh, apart from the bit where you decided that even though the whole idea was to get you inside the apartment of Barnes, YOU decided to go ever so slightly off plan and say NO!"   He did not sound happy. And he still had his eyes closed. Not a good sign.

My bravery pills kicked into action and I stopped walking.

"Actually" I said, trying to sound more confident than I was feeling. "I was being tactical".

The eyes opened. "Tactical?" He looked at me.

I gulped.

"TACTICAL! - you think that's what that was? Oh no no no – that was STUPID! That's what that was!"

I trembled – I'd never actually seen Tony this angry before. I backed away a couple of steps, which served no purposes whatsoever, as he simply moved away from the tree, came over, grabbed both of my upper arms and loomed over me whilst continuing to shout.

"You had the perfect in!    Jesus weirdo – it was offered to you on a plate – but no – you, with all your extensive in the field experience, decided to become Miss Coy of the Year and turn him down!"

He put particular emphasis on the last three words, and I suddenly wondered if I'd really ballsed up.     My arms were hurting and I tried to not let my eyes fill with tears.

"Bu – but – he wants to meet me again......"  Oh God, that sounded pathetic.

Tony obviously realized he was being just ever so slightly over the top and released his grip on me, which was a relief as my arms had been starting to go numb (there's a reason they call him Iron Man you know).

In a slightly less aggressive tone, he said "Oh sure. You really think he's gonna show?"

Rubbing my arms, I sort of nodded, though with slightly less confidence than before.

He gave me the look.

"Oh come on, think about it. He's gonna slide off back to his crummy apartment and think about how you said no, and then decide it's too fucking risky, and what a lucky escape he's had."

He shook his head. "He'll be gone before we even know it.............even with us watching the apartment, he'll be outta there........like a fucking ghost."

He closed his eyes again and turned away from me. "I should have known this wasn't gonna work.    Big mistake to get you involved."   He almost sounded as though he was admonishing himself now rather than me and with that, he leaned back against the tree once again, as if I didn't exist.

I didn't know what to do. I felt mortified and more humiliated and rejected than I'd ever felt in my life, and that was saying something.

I stumbled off in the direction of the compound, hardly seeing where I was going because of the tears in my eyes, but before I could get there, a pair of arms reached out to me and pulled me close.

It was Steve.

At that moment, I'd never been so happy to see anyone in my life.

I leaned into his chest and hugged him as tight as I could.

"I'm so useless" I cried, through heaving sobs and sniffles.

"Ssshhhhh" Steve's voice was soft and comforting. "You're not useless. Don't forget, me and Nat saw it all too and we think you did good. Tony's just being a jerk. That's why I came out to find you – I don't know why he's being like this."

I looked up at Steve's face, which took some effort as he was over a foot taller than me.

"Why are you always being so nice to me" I asked, wiping my nose with the back of my hand.  "I mean, it's not like I'm one of you - I mean, y'know - an Avenger."

He grinned and handed me a tissue  from his pocket.

"Because you're a good and kind person and you want to help. You've always been there for me when I've needed someone to talk to and you deserve a friend."

I managed a small smile. "So do you think Bucky will show up, or have I really blown it like Tony thinks?"

Steve paused, then looked down at me and grinned before saying "Yeah Magpie, he'll show – the Bucky I knew always had a good eye for a pretty girl." and he winked at me.

I went as red as an over ripe tomato and looked at the ground. No-one had ever called me pretty before, and the way Steve said it made me feel beautiful, despite the fact I was standing there with tear stained glasses and a blotchy face. He really was such a sweetie and he'd make some lucky girl the perfect husband one day.

I moved away from the comfort of his arms and stood myself up straight. "Thanks."

"Well, I guess I'd better go and get myself sorted out for the real briefing." and I managed to sound more like the old me.

Back at base, I made my way to my little room, and en-route, I passed Natasha. As I did, she patted me on the back and said "Good job rookie. Get in there for the girls!"

I couldn't hold back the smiles then and I suddenly felt a lot more positive. Praise from any Avenger was good, but from someone like Natasha Romanov, a virtual superwoman, it was praise indeed.

I threw myself onto my bed and thought about the day that had passed.

I'd met the man of my dreams, and okay, so we hadn't exactly gotten around to sending out the invites and choosing a china pattern yet, but overall, it had gone good and I felt pretty pleased myself once again. Tony can go jump!

As I fell asleep, I dreamed of Bucky and let's just say – those dreams were VERY nice!