Love and loss. Two very strong emotions that the world was feeling with the aftermath of the war. The world was healing, which was hard to do when so much happiness was flowing through their hearts. Those who had disappeared were home again, but the...
The idea of ditching the track made Wanda uncomfortable, that was until Bucky turned onto a path that started into the woods, her uncomfortable itch turned curious. They passed overgrown trees, bird nests, wildflowers. Bucky was right, scenic was better.
There was a good two feet between them, understandably so as Wanda doesn't jog quite often. It also didn't help that everything they passed by she intriguingly admired. The red squirrel that darted up a tree, a mesh of large branches fallen from a storm, the clean lines of baby willows as they began to grow. It was all soft and colorful, Wanda began to consider jogging more often. To stop and smell the roses.
They ran for another fifteen to twenty minutes before Wanda realized Bucky's pace was diminishing enough for her to catch up beside him. "Why did you slow down?" Being slightly out of breath her accent thickened.
"That's why." Bucky took smooth, deep breaths through his nose and out his mouth as he pointed past a few trees before them. Wanda's gaze followed his gesture and she viewed how the trees began to open up to a large, yet small enough to see the other side, lake. At least she thought it was a lake, Bucky corrected her assumption.
"Steve and I ran this path multiple times, he pointed out the pond the second time when we decided to run down this far. It was worth it." He stretched his arms across his chest, keeping his breathing even. Wanda didn't say anything, she smiled softly and stepped past the trees to get a closer look.
"You can go further, the ground is sturdy." Bucky walked past her and lead the way, his feet not even making an impression in the dirt, that's how packed down the earth was. "We've gone for a dip time and again, it's refreshing."
"You're right, scenic is better." She made her way to his side as he now stood just at the start of the large pond. "Thank you." Her voice was low and feathery, she meant it though. It was nice to get out of the compound, nothing like this graced her sight in Europe. "I needed this."
"Cardio? No, you didn't." He grinned, knowing that isn't exactly what she meant. Wanda, for the first time in months, actually laughed. It wasn't full or heavy, but a slight giggle managed to escape her lips. It surprised him as well, "She laughs."
The way he was looking at her, his face still aiming toward the pond yet his eyes were sneaking around his face to give her a smile of their own, it made her feel calm in the moment. Calm, and nervous all of a sudden. Wanda wanted to push the feeling away, she was mourning, nothing beside sadness should be fogging her brain, but right now that wasn't the case. The moment he looked back to the pond she was grateful, because the look he gave her was something entirely new. The entire thing caught her off guard, which made her feel vulnerable. "I'm going to head back."
Bucky turned to her, seeing the change in her expression he nodded, unsure of what caused her sudden change, "I'll be right behind you."
By the time they returned the sun was setting, Wanda shortly said goodnight to James and made her way toward her room. The confusion in his face was clear and it did make her feel bad that she was being just with him, but she had to be alone right now, she needed to relax and consider her thoughts. So once she got to her room she grabbed her night gown and robe, then made her way toward the bathroom across the hall.
Bucky walked into the empty kitchen and gripped the counter, looking over toward the window he let out a long, deep breath. There was always part of him that would blame himself for moments gone wrong. Blaming himself is his specialty.
"Did she beat you? Ya know she technically she is the strongest out of all of us so you shouldn't feel too bad." Sam waltzed into the kitchen with an empty coffee cup and plopped it into the sink before adjusting his eyes toward the soldier. "Let me backtrack..." Sam realized there was something more to the hunch in Bucky's stance. "What's going on?"
"I'm really good at ruining things. Steve would protest, but deep down he would know how good I am at being at fault for things going wrong." Staring out the large window he released his grip on the counter and turned his head at Sam.
Sam's face said a lot, as always. The 'come on man' look.
"I think I struck a chord in her. She seemed so much...better. Then, I don't know. She put up her walls and ran away."
"You're a bit concerned more than I would expect you to be." Sam crossed his arms, the corner of his lip slightly curled into a smirk.
Bucky turned around and leaned back against the counter, "As the Captain I would assume you'd care about your team."
"You're caring in a much different way and we both know that." Sam's stare read Bucky so well that it was bothering him.
"I'm going to take a shower." Pushing off the counter he stormed toward the archway that lead into the hall.
"Buck." Sam called out, watching the solider halt, "I'm here man. You can talk to me."
Bucky didn't turn his body, just his head, the back glance on it's own was heated, and Sam felt it. "You may have his shield...but you'll never be him."
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Bucky turned the corner leaving Sam standing alone, defeated, and hurt.
