Insanity

Chapter 35

Song: Praying by Ke$ha

☆☆☆

"You brought the flames 
and you put me through 
hell."

☆☆☆

Two years later. . .

Bucky dropped the last large stone into place, brushing off his gloves on his pants.

"Oh it looks perfect!" the woman trilled, fishing through her purse for her wallet.

For almost a year and a half now, Bucky had tried to end his pickpocketing days by taking up small, quiet jobs, usually consisting of moving very heavy things. This morning he had just finished a hideous rock arrangement on an older woman's front lawn, though he'd never tell her how ugly it was. She thought it was spectacular, handing him a huge wad of cash.

"Thank you, James," she said, admiring the ghastly boulders now poking up from her lawn like stalagmites. "Who even needs those silly Avengers anyway, right?"

"Any time," he smiled, slipping the cash into his pocket just against the crinkled Captain America pamphlet. He knew he needed to take that thing out of his jacket and put it somewhere more secure, but it was just comforting to always have it on his person. It was like a constant reminder of who he was and where he belonged.

He checked down every alley as he walked back to his apartment, still unsure as to why he felt the need to do so. He waved to the shopkeepers on the street in the market, pausing to grab his daily newspaper on the way home and buying a single red apple.

Bucky read the paper as he walked, munching on the apple simultaneously. "The Aftermath of Lagos" the headline on the front page read, beneath it a picture of the Iron Man zipping through the air, the caption below reading "Captain America saves the day again - or does he? Where's Tony Stark when we need him?" Bucky hated seeing Tony Stark's name, as it was a constant reminder that Howard and Maria Stark did have a son left behind after he had killed them. He feared that one day Tony would find out the truth and come after him in a rage with his Iron Man suit though honestly, he knew he couldn't blame him if he did.

The article went on to complain about the massive collateral damage caused by The Avengers' latest escapade to Lagos just months after their controversial battle in Sokovia, where they had apparently bested a robot called Ultron who was bent on destroying humanity. Although it was over six months ago now, it seemed like every journalist in the world was still complaining about it, either arguing that what The Avengers did was right or wrong. Bucky found it ridiculous; if The Avengers hadn't been there, humanity would have been destroyed - so why were people still complaining? And now, angry journalists had whatever happened in Lagos to complain about. As he read, it appeared eleven people in a hotel had been killed "while The Avengers just stood by helplessly and watched." It seemed like people were really reaching for arguments, especially those saying things like "Maybe if Captain America had a real weapon" or "the only useful Avengers are Tony Stark and Thor." Bucky wrinkled his nose at the article, tossing the newspaper into a garbage can as he passed by. People just couldn't appreciate anything these days. And in his mind, if those journalists could have done it better, they should have gone there themselves.

Bucky started up the stairwell towards his apartment, passing by the complex's landlord along the way. "Hello, James!" the landlord trilled, pausing on the staircase. "Don't mind me, just passing through."

Bucky had managed to stay in his apartment only a month before being found out by the landlord who thankfully, was quite understanding. He told Bucky he could stay and even offered to help him pay his rent by giving him mundane tasks around the complex fixing things up and moving things around. Bucky was grateful for the man's kindness, and thrilled he got to keep his little apartment.