My Name Is Bucky

восемнадцатый (18)

I don't know what happened.

I'm beginning to think I say this sentence too much.

Nevertheless, I had woken up in a cold sweat, knowing that something was wrong. I checked the communicator Steve had given me, hoping for a sign he had contacted. Nothing. I sat up, scanning outside the area to try and figure out why my senses had gone off.

"Steve?" My voice felt hoarse and scruffy, as if I had not had any water in days.

I fumbled when I stood up, grabbing the nightstand for support. I counted my breaths and rubbed my eyes. What was going on with me? I headed towards the kitchen, trying to find the cabinets with the glasses in them. In my less than ideal state, I had reached for the cabinet door with my left arm and accidentally ripped it off of its hinges.

That woke me up. "Sh*t," I muttered as I attempted to fix the door in order to make it look like everything was fine.

I stepped away slowly, staring at the cabinet. When I was sure it would stay, I filled my glass with water and chugged it. I felt the cool run down my throat and into my stomach. It was intensely refreshing. I filled the cup up again, choking down as much water as possible.

The hair on the back of my neck stood up and I immediately felt uneasy. As if I was being watched. I spun on my heel to see Natasha, leaning against the wall and staring at me.

"Hey, Barnes," she greeted cooly, not giving away any of her emotions.

"Where's Steve?" I questioned, stepping towards the unwelcoming woman.

"You always wanna know about Steve, don't you?" She stared right into my eyes, scanning me. She wanted to know something.

"Do you know where he is or not?" I asked again.

She started to walk away. "Come on, we're going to be late."

I stayed where I was. "Late for what? And I'm not going on another mission again."

She scoffed. "Oh no, not a mission. You're under house arrest but you can go outside with special supervision."

"So, I'm assuming you're my babysitter. Where are we going?"

"To the museum," Natasha walked out the door, and I followed.

Something feels strange.
You're just now noticing this? I doubt you'll die, but stay on guard.

I followed Natasha through the main building. The technology here was insane. We walked past Tony's room, and I watched as he pulled a screen up out of nowhere. I smiled as he did this a few more times, rotating and typing on the holograms.

I felt an army grab my wrist and I instinctively twisted the other before realizing it was Natasha. We didn't speak, but she gave me one of those "not mad, just disappointed" looks. She took me through a door I have never seen before before typing in a code and opening another door.

We walked onto the runway and picked out a smaller craft with small decals on the side. They were the symbols of SHIELD, but they gave no indication as to what the symbol meant. Natasha scanned her eye into the system, along with her hand, and the back of the plane let out a soft psf as it opened.

"After you, grandpa," she teased and stepped aside to let me board first.

I know we have history together but hearing her joke like that with me made me uncomfortable. I don't know her. Not in this lifetime, anyways. But I never got the sense of knowing when I was with her that I always got from Steve. Something always felt off. As if I was just some mission she was assigned to.