Play Pretend - Bucky Barnes

Part 8

Bucky wasn't a patient man but for you, he tried. He tried when he was waiting for the helicopter to come pick you up and bring you to SHIELD'S medical unit. He tried when they were rolling you away on a bed into a room he wasn't allowed. He tried extra hard when Bruce came to update him on the situation but alas his breaking point came he was told that they still weren't sure what was injected into your body.

"What do you mean you don't know? She's been in there for hours," His jaw clenched as he shouted at the poor man, "What have you been doing in there? Fluffing her pillow? Looking at cat videos?" He stabbed his finger hard into Bruce's chest making him take a step back.

"Wow, buddy, let's calm down," Steve intervened directing Bucky to a seat.

"It's not his fault. He's trying to help," Steve asserted as Bucky slumped down in his seat. Bruce nodded thankfully, glad that Steve was there to calm the situation.

"I know," He buried his face in his hands and whispered,"I'm scared, Steve."

Steve hadn't expected that. Bucky's history still had its grip on him and him opening up wasn't something that happened often. Hearing him talking about you and admit his fear, made Steve realise how serious this was. He was in love with you.

He hadn't expected this to happen for a long time. Given Bucky's history, Steve had put love of the picture for the next years. He'd admit that he at first tried to get the 'old playboy Bucky' back but it took a stern talk with you for him to realise that was impossible. He had put his own nostalgia and wish for the past on Bucky and when he hadn't lived up to that, he felt distanced and like he was wronged.

So, he worked hard to fix his own faults and get to know the 'new Bucky'. Turns out, he still had much to learn given the newly learned information. It would take a lot to get Bucky to admit something of this calibre but you had somehow managed to crack his hard exterior. How you did, bewildered him, but he let it slide as he watched his distressed best friend fall apart right in front of his eyes

Flashbacks flew through your mind as a fever raged through your body. Memories from childhood to adulthood flashed before your eyes. Is this what dying is like, you pondered. It had never really occurred to you that death could be a possibility.

You would miss life. The past weeks, even with all its hardships, had contained some great moments. Despite the incident at the Christmas party and other subsequent moments, you still held onto your feelings for Bucky. Nothing could have prepared you for how incredible living with him was. You discovered sides of him you would never have found and the little things that made him unique.

It would be a shame if all that went to waste, even if you weren't sure of his feelings for you. The whole mission with its fake-dating had been a game of uncertainty. Each time you played a card and felt sure about the end game, he changed the rules.

However, you wouldn't have backed out of the game even with the knowledge you have now of how it ended.

Bruce Banner was a clever man, he had gotten multiple Ph.Ds including one in Biochemistry by working hard. He was struggling to keep the rage under control as the chemicals inside the syringe continued to taunt him with their unknownness. He had absolutely no idea what they were currently doing to your body and it infuriated him. He had no way of helping you.

"She's seizing!" The doctors and nurses worked quickly to turn you onto your side making sure you were breathing.

Bruce heard the commotion and watched as they stabilised you. You looked dreadful. A grey shine laid upon your skin, the bags under your eyes looked as though they were from punches and you almost felt translucent. It certainly wasn't the same woman he had seen only a weeks ago.

You had brought him coffee and sandwich to the lab knowing how lost he would get in work. It was nice to have someone care and know they did. He often felt as if he was overlooked and that he was only needed as the Hulk. He was used as a last resort and all his other work was ignored. Although there had been small pats on the back of reassurance from the others, none had given it consistently like you.

Watching you fighting for your life brought back a renewed determination. He wouldn't let you die on his watch, not if he could prevent it.