The Fangirl that Saved the World

Chapter 10

Steve's POV

Natasha and I run down to the medical wing and meet Bruce who was leaving. He doesn't work here, I just asked him to take a look at Natalie personally. I would assume he is on his way to his lab.

"Bruce!" I shout after him and spins around on his heels.

"Good, you're here," he says and leads me into an empty hospital room.

Natasha and I follow him and he shuts the door behind us.

"What is it? Is Natalie okay?" I ask frantically.

Bruce extends his hand as a signal to calm myself. I take a deep breath and I nod for him to say something. Natasha takes my hand in hers and squeezes it.

What would I do without you, Nat?

"Natalie will be fine. She is perfectly fine physically beside the bruise on her neck. Her memory, however, most likely won't return. I'm sorry, Steve."

I think my whole world just froze. My heart just broke.

Did I just lose the love of my life?

I must have gone temporarily deaf because Nat was trying to get my attention and I didn't even realize.

"Steve? Talk to me," the assassin pulls on my arm.

"I'm sorry, I can't really get my head straight right now," I say, blinking away my tears.

"Steve, I know this seems bad, but - "

"It seems bad? No, this is bad. Nat, I just lost everything," I raise my voice and remove my hand from hers.

"You didn't lose her, Steve. You just have to be by her side and tell her how things were before. You guys can make it work," Bruce attempts to convince me things aren't as bad as they are.

"No, Bruce. She hates me. I can't just tell her everything that happened. Besides, she wouldn't believe me. Even if she did, she has Bucky. Nothing is stopping them from being together. I should let him have his chance," I sigh.

"You can't just give up on her, Steve," Natasha says softly and places a hand on my shoulder.

"I have no choice. I can't hold her back if she wants to live a life without me. She doesn't deserve that," I refuse.

"You're too nice for your own good, Rogers," Nat says and hold me in a warm embrace.

The three of us just sit in the room quietly for a while. It was nice. They let me think, but they knew I didn't want to be alone. I'm grateful to have such good friends.

I'm going to need them.

Natalie's POV

So this is pretty wicked. I'm in the MCU. I still haven't quite gotten my head wrapped around that yet. Part of me doesn't even feel like I'm actually in the movies because of how much is changed.

Let me rephrase that.

How much I changed the movies.

Plus, I can't believe I'm an Avenger. That's so rad.

Bucky walked me to my room about an hour ago, but he hasn't left yet. He hasn't spoken much either. He's just watching me as I sketch on a notepad. It was something I had always liked.

"Bucky?" I asked, looking over at him.

"Yes, doll?" he said, but I could tell he instantly regretted it.

"We became close ever since I brought you back to New York, right?"

"Yeah, I would say so. Best friends," he smiled, but it wasn't real.

A smile doesn't come from the lips. Smiles are all in the eyes. Bucky's eyes don't even twitch.

I'll ask him about that later though.

"Did I ever tell you about when I first got here? I don't remember it," I tell him and he shakes his head.

"No. I would ask Steve. He and Clint are the only ones that you talked to about your struggles getting here. You told me I wasn't high enough level to get that classified info. I guess it really shook you up," he said sadly.

He was right. I am quite shaken up. I'm never going to see my family or friends again. Or at least the ones that know me.

Some things that he has told me confuse me. Especially with his body language. I based on the nickname and the way he looks at me gives me the idea that we have history. On top of that, it pained him to call me a friend. I would assume that he is waiting for me to adjust before dropping a bomb on me.

Bucky said that he wasn't high enough on my secret scale yet though which surprises me. Especially because Steve is. I can't imagine being near him, let alone confiding in him. I understand Clint though. I always thought he was a good father figure in the movies and I'm sure it's like that for us now in some aspects.

I'll just have to do more investigating involving Steve. I will have to put up my happy act to be able to even look at him. I was alright before, but now that I know this is real, Steve Rogers makes my blood boil.

I don't know how long he kept that promise, but he had to know that it wouldn't last. Why make it? It irks me to even think about it.

"What's wrong, Natalie?" Bucky asks and I realize he had moved across the room to sit next to me.

I look at him confused thinking that I hadn't been physically showing my emotions. I hadn't, I was completely calm and still.

He looked down at the sketch in front of me and my strokes became darker and more violent. The shading covered the entire page and what was originally a blooming daisy, was a wilting rose.

Geez, I didn't realize I could get that depressing so fast.

"Sorry, just lost in thought," I shake my head.

Bucky smiles at me softly, but his eye contact doesn't last more than a few seconds.

"What were you drawing before your brain got in the way?" he teased.

I laugh and point out the origin of the sketch.

"A daisy mid-bloom."

"Why is that?" he asked, genuinely curious.

I smiled to myself thinking back on the memory.

"Daisies are my favorite flower. They can be so different, yet it's all one thing. Same core. Sam purpose. Sure a flower is a flower, but daisies are different. They are to me at least. My room was painted yellow and was covered with daisies. They were my happy place. Every year on my birthday my dad would get me a dozen daisies. That's a perk of being born in April. I'm 22 and he still does it. He knew that I didn't want anything else. I just wanted a day, a moment, to think back and be happy. I refused every other gift someone gave me. I didn't care what it was. I made them keep it or give it away to charity. My birthday was for me and my dad. April 22nd was a day for daisies."

I look up at Bucky whose eyes are filled with sorrow and adoration. I didn't think he could be any more perfect, yet here we are.

I'm so happy to be able to love someone like James Buchanan Barnes.