stamina (bucky barnes)

33

Steve and Bri didn't speak for the next few weeks. They weren't necessarily giving each other space, but they found it would probably be better to avoid each other so suspicious thoughts didn't arise from the rest of the team.

Bucky still had no clue that they had, sort of, worked things out and Bri was not about to tell him.

After going on a midnight bike ride to clear both of their heads, Steve had stopped in a secluded area so they could talk face to face.

"Thanks for this." Bri said, playing with her fingers while she leaned against the motorcycle.

Steve waved her off and tilted his head to look at the stars. It was conveniently a clear night and the sky sparkled. "I know you don't like to talk, so I figured this was the next best thing."

"I would say I could apologize for everything I've done, but frankly I don't think my actions compare to yours... or Tony's." Bri sighed. "So, I guess this is me talking about my feelings so you can stop being an asshole towards me and Buck."

"Does Bucky let you talk things out?" Steve wondered. "Or do you keep it to yourself so you don't overwhelm him?"

Bri hummed. "We both talk equally. He just needs more care and reassurance than I do."

"I think that's where you're wrong."

"How so?"

"You keep all of your concerns bottled up until you find an opportunity to escape to the garage and take it all out on yourself. You don't let other people console you because you're like me. You don't like feeling, or being portrayed as, weak." Steve concluded, grunting as he rested his weight on one hand to sit on the gravel beneath him.

"Stop sounding like a psychologist, Steve. I don't like going to therapy." Bri responded. She crossed her arms and tried not to roll her eyes. "Tony taught me that."

"Tony is the last person that needs to be giving advice concerning mental health-"

"Steve, I was on multiple medications for so long. I literally could not get out of the bed in the morning and Natasha had to fly all the way across the country and stay with me until she could get me used to a good routine." Bri's voice cracked and she begged herself to stop the tears. Surprisingly, she'd cried more times in front of Steve than she had in front of Tony and Pepper combined. "I don't like talking about what I go through because it is useless."

"You had people that got you out of those slumps." Steve shrugged his shoulders. "Sometimes we both need to learn how to rely on others in difficult situations."

"The only people we know have their own 'difficult situations', Steve." Bri did roll her eyes at that one. "When Pepper took me to get evaluated for PTSD, it was the scariest diagnosis I have ever received. We didn't even tell Tony for a while because I was scared he would be disappointed in me. He didn't want me to turn out like him, but now I think it's too late to sway from that path."

"You are not like Tony."

"I-" She paused. "Can we talk about something else?"

Steve nodded. "Sharon called me yesterday."

Bri rose an eyebrow at him.

"She said she wanted to meet up and talk."

"Are you going?"

"Probably not."

"Steve." Bri scolded him. "I think Sharon is one of the few on the waiting list for apologies."