Divided |2|

twenty-two

Victoria sat in her seat for a moment, in complete shock.

The image of Rhodey falling straight to the ground and the impact of it weighed heavily on her. She didn't think anyone else saw it, but she couldn't look away as he fell. She stood up and tried to walk over to a cupboard on the other end of the jet, to get her mind off of it. But as she took her third step, her legs failed her and she fell to the floor.

Steve turned in his pilot's seat while Bucky and Pietro rushed to the girl. Bucky stood back while Pietro picked her up. He muttered to her softly in Sokovian while her body shook. She was struggling to breathe properly.

Bucky pulled a small vial out of his pocket and took the lid off. "Vic, drink this." Pietro held the vial to her lips but she hesitated. "Trust me, it'll help." She drank the liquid until the vial was empty and Pietro handed it back to Bucky. Bucky put his hand on her shoulder and sent her a small smile. "Better?"

Victoria's shaking eased and she felt a lot stronger than she did before. She sent a curious look to the soldier. "What was in that stuff?"

"Oh, I actually don't know." Seeing her distressed look, he held a hand up. "Alex made it for me. When she first met me, I would have a lot of anxiety and often would burst into fits. She made it for herself, actually, but it worked on me too. She gave a vial to me just in case."

"How did she even make something like that?"

"She used her magic to do it."

"I really need a witch friend."

She looked at Pietro, who had a very confused expression on his face, and motioned to be set down. He allowed her to stand on her own, but kept his hands around her. She patted his cheeks and kissed his nose. "I'll explain when you're older."

Pietro huffed and Bucky smiled at the pair. "You two are really cute together."

"Oh, it gets really sickening after a while," Steve spoke over his shoulder as he manned the controls. Victoria stomped over to him and flicked his forehead. The Captain rubbed his forehead and frowned at her. "I'm telling Dahlia on you."

"Go ahead, old man. She won't believe you after she's met me."

Bucky strapped himself into a seat behind Steve while Victoria sat on the floor with Pietro cradling her. He brushed her hair back and kissed her head. Victoria smiled softly.

God, I love this man so much.

"Cap, how far we from Siberia?"

"Well, I don't have some sort of internal map system. But judging from the fact that I don't see snow yet," he nodded slightly. "Not close yet?"

"Smartass," Victoria muttered under her breath causing Pietro to chuckle.

"Language."

"Okay, that was funny last year... It's over now—wait... No it's still funny."

A hush fell over them. They were each lost in their own thoughts. Victoria wondered what would happen to those they left behind. It seemed that Bucky had the same question on his own mind. "What's gonna happen to your friends?"

"Whatever it is," Steve sighed and shook his head. "I'll deal with it."

"I don't know if I'm worth all this, Steve."

Victoria frowned deeply and stood to walk over to Bucky. She placed her hand on his and squeezed it softly. "Buck, you're worth all of this. Now, I may not have known you for as long as Steve has... But I can tell that you are an amazing person. Bucky is an amazing person. And deep down, so is the Winter Soldier, somehow."

"I killed people I didn't want to, Vic."

"What you did all those years," Steve turned around to look at Bucky. "It wasn't you. You didn't have a choice."

"I know. But I did it."

Victoria could see how hurt he was when their eyes locked again. She kissed his forehead gently and gave him a small smile. "We have all done things we aren't proud of. All of us have. That's what makes us human. You are human too, Buck. Believe it or not, you're not the monster HYDRA tried to create."

"You sound just like Alex right now."

"She sounds like her father too," Pietro smirked at the girl. "His monologues are rubbing off on you, I see."

"Go and eat shit, Pietro." She turned to Steve with a finger up, noticing his parted lips. "Don't even start, Cap." She rubbed Bucky's hair and smiled wider at him. "We're always going to be here for you Buck. I know I'm not leaving. Steve isn't either."

"Till the end of the line."

Bucky parted his lips and stared at Steve with a wide grin, who returned the grin. Victoria rose an eyebrow and pointed between them. "Is that like—a thing between the two of you, or what?"

"Kinda, yeah."

"Pietro," he hummed at her attention. "Why don't we have a thing?"

"Because..." he struggled to find his words before sighing. "They are not a couple, Victoria."

"Sure..." she walked back to him, mumbling under her breath. "Stucky for life."