Everything's Going to Change

Bucky

"Charlie, Charlie wake up!" I jerked upright and looked around frantically "It's OK kiddo, we're home." I calmed down and looked ahead to see a house that was settled in front of a beach.

"It's beautiful." I breathed, looking out at the scene in wonder.

"Thanks," Steve said with a grin "I wanted somewhere that no one would be able to find me or..."

"Or who?" I asked curiously.

"How much do you know about the events that happened in Washington D.C.?"

"No way! That is so cool! He has a metal arm?"

"Yes, and he's semi-sensitive about it, so try not to stare or say anything that may be offensive and/or upsetting to him."

"Understood. Oh, and um... what happened to me? Before I fell asleep." Steve sighed and looked at me sadly.

"It's called a panic attack Charlie. I think the accident affected you more than you're willing to let on. I'm not asking you to tell me exactly what's going on, but just don't shut me out. Please." Steve was begging and I felt terrible that I had upset him.

"I promise I won't." I whispered. Steve leaned over and gave me a hug, that I immediately returned.

"Ready to meet my boyfriend?"

"Steve, who is this?" I was hiding shyly behind Steve as a guy who I assumed was Bucky met us at the door.

"Bucky, this is Charlie. I adopted her." I gave a small wave as Steve looked down at me and pushed me in front of him "She's a little shy." he said with a smile. Bucky walked over and knelt down next to me.

"Hi." he said softly "My name's Bucky. It's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too." I whispered as my eyes flickered from him to the ground.

"Charlie, why don't you go play outside for a little while until dinner time."

"Yes sir." I said to Steve before hurrying outside to go play in the ocean.

Steve's POV

"Why did you adopt a kid?"

"Her parents died Bucky! I couldn't just let her be shipped off to an orphanage!" Bucky sighed and rested his head in his hands.

"How's she taking it?" he asked finally.

"She had a panic attack on the way here. It was a car accident that killed her parents and she's still traumatized by it." Bucky frowned and stared at the ground thoughtfully.

"Maybe I should talk to her." he said after a few minutes.

"Are you sure?" I asked carefully "She's still a little nervous around new people." Bucky nodded silently.

"I want to make sure she's OK. If she's going to be staying here, I think at one point I'm going to have to talk to her." I smiled and leaned over to kiss him.

"You are the best boyfriend anyone could ever have."

"You know it."

Charlie's POV

"Charlie!" I turned and saw Bucky walking towards me. He sat down next to me in the sand and watched the sun go down on the horizon. "How are you holding up?" he asked finally.

"It's a meh from me." Bucky chuckled softly.

"Meh?" he said with a grin.

"Surprisingly, it's one of the best adjectives I have ever discovered." I turned to look at him carefully and saw that he was still smiling. Hopefully that meant he liked me.

"You don't have to be scared of me." he said quietly.

"Anything scares me these days, please don't take it personally."

"Do you want to talk about it?" I shrugged wordlessly.

"Can't talk about what you can't fix." I whispered.

"I don't think anythings unfixable until it's on fire."

"Well maybe there's hope for me yet." Bucky nudged my arm playfully "It's just that the last thing I ever said to my parents was a lie. I told them I was fine and they spent their last moments trying to get me to talk to them. All that time I could've told them I loved them and I didn't."

"Did you love them?" Bucky asked.

"Of course I did."

"Then why are you upset about that? If you loved them then they had to know that." I was crying silently, hoping Bucky wouldn't notice. He noticed. Slowly, he put an arm around my shoulders and I gratefully leaned into it. "It's OK kiddo. I'm right here."

"Thank you." I said hoarsely.

"No problem Charlie."