Love and Winter (Bucky Barnes) Hiatus

15 - Open wounds

Chapter 15

The incessant beeping was what woke Reagan up in the end, her eyes opening and then immediately shutting as the bright let met her eyes.

    "Reagan, honey?" A soft voice spoke next to her, making her turn her head towards it before struggling to open her eyes once more.

    "Pepper?" Her voice rasped.

    "I'm here, sweetie."

Blinking her eyes she groaned, turning her head to look at the woman sitting at her side; "where is here?"

    "New York," Pepper replied quickly. "You've been comatose for 3 days."

    "WHAT?!" She exclaimed, trying to sit up only to flinch in pain and fall back onto the bed.

    "You lost a lot of blood Reagan," Pepper put a hand on her arm, "we nearly lost you."

    "What happened? How is Tony? Where is Tony? How... How are the others?"

    "If you are talking about Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes we don't know. He and Steve has disappeared. Clint, Wanda, Sam and that ant guy - Scott was it? They are in jail, for the time being. Tony is at said prison right now, handling some issues I believe."

    "But nobody is dead?"

    "Nobody is dead, but they hurt each other badly. Tony ripped off Bucky's metal arm from what I gather, and Steve ruined Tony's arc-reactor."

Reagan nodded her head and looked down at her hands in silence for a moment before she spoke up again; "is Tony mad at me?"

    "Of course he is mad, Reagan." Pepper sighed softly, making Reagan look over at her again, feeling like a guilty child that was being reprimanded by her parent; "but most of all he has just been terrified of losing you."

    "I'm sorry," Reagan said softly, eyes back on her hands again.

    "It is impossible to choose who we fall in love with, even if he is a renowned assassin."

    "I'm not in love with him," Reagan felt her cheeks heat up.

    "You sure about that?" Pepper looked at her with a twinkle in her eyes. "He is kind of handsome I guess, in a broody, rugged, assassin kind of way."

"Shut up," Reagan said as a chuckle fell from her lips. "You know he was brainwashed right? Or has Tony not given you that information."

"He has," Pepper sombered up, the glint she had previously had in her eyes disappearing. "Did you know that two of the many people he assassinated were Tony's parents?"

Reagan immediately felt tears spring to her eyes, her fingers wringing together in her lap as she blinked her eyes rapidly. She could hear hear heart monitor going insane besides her and she struggled to slow down her breath and calm down.

    "No I didn't."

*        *        *

3 days earlier

    "You good?"

    "Bucky?"

Bucky moved his gaze over to Steve, eyes blank. "Sorry," he said after a while, realizing Steve had probably said something to him. "I was just thinking."

    "I need your head to be in the game now, alright?"

    "I'm fine, Steve."

_      _      _       _