Taming The Ghost

Chapter 20

A/N: Hey guys, so sorry this took so long to arrive, life kind of got in the way a bit and then I lost motivation when I did have time. Not to worry though, I'm back and feeling better. Hopefully, I can get another chapter of this story up tomorrow for you. I'm re-watching Civil War again tonight to get some more inspiration. Enjoy the story! :)

By some way of a miracle, we made it through security. Bucky took our guns, which we had only brought with us in case things got bad, and his passport and used the staff service corridors to avoid detection. It may have cause some members of staff a bit of a concussion but at least he go through safely and nobody died. In the mean time, I went through by TSA the traditional way; through metal detectors and pat searches.

Bucky and I now sat in the departures lounge, where he had met me after the security palaver was over, awaiting our flight to be called. His hat hung low as we sat in the corner of the lounge, slouched on the rigid metal chairs, clutching our fake identities. To any passers-by, we just looked like two weary travellers who had been moving from place to place for hours, but to us it was a race against the clock. It was only a matter of time before Tony realised I'd been out way too long to just be running his errands. He'd figure it out sooner or later, and when he did he wouldn't be too pleased; that's putting it lightly.

"Hey, you okay?" came a low whisper from beside me, shocking me out of my thoughts. I looked to my right to see Bucky, his cap still pulled down over his face and head hung low.

"Yeah, why?" I replied

"Oh, ok. It's just that you were biting your nails and I thought that something might be on your mind." I looked down and sure enough my hand was right there, thumb poised and ready for chewing, although it showed signs of already being chewed as there were tiny chunks of skin missing from the areas surrounding the nail. Quickly, I crossed my arms over my chest and tucked the affected hand under my armpit, out of view.

"Aren't I supposed to be your therapist, not the other way around?"

"I suppose, there's nothing wrong with me caring about you though. We need to have each other's backs now, no matter how big or small the situation, and I want you to know that I have yours." I smiled a soft smile at him; a small gesture but one well understood between the two of us. Just then, a faint female voice announced over the tannoy

"Ladies and Gentlemen, the 12:42 British Airways flight to Romania, stopping at London Heathrow, is now boarding. Could all passengers please form an orderly queue and have their passports and tickets ready for inspection. Thank you."

"Well, that's our cue." I said, standing and lifting my duffle bag over my shoulder and wandering over to the gate, Bucky in tow.

Once we'd passed the gate and found our seats, I breathed out a sigh of relief. It had been a stressful journey, what with me having to escape unassumingly from Stark Tower and then having to get the most wanted man in the world onto a plane without him being spotted. Finally being able to sit down and not worry about what ruse we had to use next was nice, even if it was only until we arrived in London where we'd have to do it all again.

"Hey, Buck?" I said quietly. Even though no members of the public knew Bucky's real name, I was still careful of how I spoke since I knew that Tony could use voice recognition and other people's devices to find us.

"Hmm?" he hummed in reply

"Will you be okay if I plug in my headphones on the way to London and try and get some sleep?"

"Yeah, I should be fine. If I feel like something's wrong I'll wake you."

"Okay, are you sure you don't want to try and sleep as well? It's a long journey." I asked, taking note of the dark circles that had developed under his eyes. Somehow they were even more prominent than they were the first day I met him.

"I'm scared that if I do, our old pal Winter will appear again and I might lose control. I don't want to hurt all these people, I don't want to hurt anyone." he said solemnly.