Nightingale (Sequel to Solider Boy)

Sixty

"So are our girlfriends fighting?"  Steve asked, frowning as he said that. "Oh God, that feels weird to say."

"Feels weird to hear," Bucky added, flopping down onto the couch. It was true enough, Melody was his girlfriend but hearing someone else say it aloud was strange. "And I don't know, they might just be clearing the air."

"Could it be both?"

"That seems the most likely possibility."  

Steve looked sideways at him. 

"What?"

"You sort of sounded like Mel for a minute." 

Bucky laughed and stared at the ceiling. "Don't worry, I won't be practicing sutures anytime soon." 

Steve had shown up not long after Melody had left, white-faced and informing Bucky of what was going on, soon realizing her already knew and since then, they'd retreated to the living room, waiting things out. 

"Good, you'd probably screw it up." Steve sighed again. "You know, I can't get drunk and normally it doesn't bug me. Right now it bothers me."

"It's too early for drinking."

"Yeah, but I feel like crap." Steve answered, blowing out a long breath and staring blankly at the opposite wall. "Sharon...I've never seen her this sad, not even when Peggy died. This...this thing with Mel, it's hurting  her and I can't do anything about it."

"She's not angry?" Bucky asked. "This morning, when I overheard you two talking, she sounded pretty pissed." He'd already confessed his eavesdropping to Steve. Bucky was done keeping secrets from him. 

"Oh no, she's angry too. But more sad than anything. She feels like she failed, like she should've known before now." He sighed, "Worst part is, after she told me about what she did, hiding you like that. I was angry, I was so angry that I wanted something like this to happen. I wanted her to be lied to by someone she trusted and loved, I wanted her to know what it felt like. I got what I wanted. Doesn't feel as good as I thought it would."

Bucky titled his neck so he could look better at Steve. "Not even Captain America is above being angry."

"What kind of petty asshole wishes someone they love to go through pain like that?"

"A petty one would hold onto it and still want it. A stubborn one like you lets it go a day later and has empathy if it happens." For a moment, he felt like he'd made his point, but that moment vanished like butter in a hot pan half a second later. "Did you just say you're in love with Sharon?"

Steve's glum expression lighted. "Yeah, I guess I did. I love her." He said it with a little more force this time. 

"Have you told her?"

"No."

"Get a move on," he said instantly. "You took your sweet time just to kiss her, don't make the same mistake twice."

"Like you can talk. You can't tell me you didn't wait a while before kissing Mel the first time."

Bucky's face burned. "That was different, I didn't know how she felt about me. I thought I was just a patient. You had to know Sharon had a thing for you. People don't drink gallons of cheap coffee for just anyone."

"Hey, that was all I could afford."

"I'm not judging," he shrugged. "At least you took her out on a date."

"You didn't?"

Bucky gave him a blank look. "Think about what a date implies for a moment Steve."

"Oh," his friend's face turned a little red. "My bad. I just...you were always the one who was good with women. Charming, said all the right things, it's just hard to imagine you not being like that."