Nightingale (Sequel to Solider Boy)

Twenty-Three

"So, how'd it go with Sharon, Bucky asked as he scribbled in his journal, Melody laying at his side, showered and pouring over notes for the sim and writing so fast that ink was staining her fingers. 

"She agreed she was over the line and wants to apologize. She was about to come here before she got an emergency call from work."

"And that's how you got back here?" Bucky guessed. 

"Correct," Melody replied, still scribbling like mad. "So be expecting a visit from her soon enough." A heartbeat passed and then she added. "I talked to Steve too." Her voice was noticeably smaller when she said that and her speed of her writing slowed down.

"He behaved right?" Bucky asked, setting aside his journal and pen. "I know Steve can be a bit intense when it comes to stuff he cares about."

"We didn't talk about you actually, not least not at length." Melody looked up from her notebook, a half finshed equation on the page. "Last time and I spoke we weren't exactly kind to each other."

"What does that mean?" 

"I don't trust him, he doesn't trust me and we're both stubborn." She shrugged, "Not a recipe for a good conversation." 

"You can trust Steve," Bucky said, frowning. "He's my best friend."

"I don't trust my own best friend," she reminded him. "It's not a slight on Steve's character, I know he's a good man." 

"Maybe you should try giving trust a chance," Bucky said after a moment's pause. While he did understand Melody's reason for secrecy, it didn't mean he agreed with it. "Sharon I mean."

"I know," she whispered. "I should but it's just...easier not to. Or at least easier than opening up again." Melody sighed and closed her eyes. "Sharon called me a hero today. She thinks I am one, really believes it's true; how can I look at her and tell her that I have never been who she thinks I am? How can 

"You're not a monster."

"I never said I was," Melody remarked. "Not yet anyways. I just...I'm scared if I let her in that she'll want nothing to do with me and I'm not brave enough to risk that." 

"You have though," Bucky reminded me gently, grabbing her hand and pulling it into his own. Their skin made a hushing sound against the paper. "You let me in, you were brave enough to risk that then." 

"No I wasn't." 

"Um, that's sort of how love works, you open yourself up to being rejected if you say something." He knew that fear well, he'd become very well acquainted with it two years ago, as he'd fallen in love with Melody. Those fears then, the fear that she'd turned him away seemed so silly now.

"But I didn't open up. You did." She said, reaching out and touching his face. "You are the one who moved first. I didn't risk anything when I kissed you-I already knew how you felt." 

Bucky rolled his eyes. She was technically right-he'd been the one to start things, yes, but Melody had risked something that night too. "I saw what you looked like for the first time-wasn't that a risk?"

Melody's pale face turned a little pink. "Maybe. I didn't think you'd touch me again."

"I think you came to the wrong  conclusion Doctor." Bucky teased, letting his hand trace down her arm. Even though he couldn't see it, he knew exactly where the scar began. He'd memorized it, among other things.

"Being wrong usually isn't so pleasant." She said, eyes twinkling as she smiled at him. "I almost collapsed when you kissed me that night."

Bucky blushed a little. Though Melody wasn't being specific, she didn't need to be. He knew what kiss she was talking about. Not their first one, but the one that had come afterwards."I didn't notice."