"You gave her a room?!"
Bucky and Clint woke up a few hours later to the empty sheets of the hospital bed, where Wanda was supposed to be resting. At first the soldier was confused as to why she'd leave, scared that she could've been taken, but when he spoke to Shuri that confusion was replaced with frustration.
"Yes, i did. Ms. Maximoff asked for one so i took her. Is that a problem?" She slipped past them to finish preparing a tray for Wanda.
Clint let out a sigh. "No. If that's what she wanted then we have to respect that." He gave Bucky a pointed look. The frustration he felt only grew and as he felt it rise he left, not wanting to say something he'd regret.
When he left the med bay he noticed Steve walking down the hall. "How is she?" He asked worriedly. He knew Buck, he knew he wouldn't leave her side unless something was really, seriously wrong. Nothing was said until the frustration he felt went down.
Bucky crossed his arms and leaned on the wall. "I don't know, she apparently woke up last night and asked for a room."
Steve saw something in his eyes, something he's never seen in a long time. "If she wants her space then we should give it to her. Let her heal."
"She's not gonna heal, Punk. If anything she's just going to become worse the longer she..." He let out a sigh. "She's closing herself off, Steve. She's not gonna leave that room unless she absolutely needs to. She's not gonna call for help when she needs it most."
Steve watched as his eyes glazed over as well as his grip on his arm got tighter. "Just give her time. She'll come to you when she's ready."
"You don't understand. She doesn't want to be a burden. That's why she wanted the room so badly. Just because she doesn't want to bother us with her feelings."
"Bucky, you don't know that."
"That's what i did." He turned his head to look at his friend. "I ran when you wanted to help me because i was afraid of burdening you."
"But you weren't."
"But that's how it felt. That's why you didn't take my offer to help you before i went to war, right?"
Steve wanted to feel proud that he remembered that but shame washed over him. "Yeah."
"I want to be there for her, i do, but i can't if she shuts herself out-" Bucky was interrupted by the door of the med bay opening. He looked at the ground put as Shuri walked by them. Once she past he continued. "How did you do it with me?"
"Well," he leaned on the wall with him, "I waited for you to come around and eventually you did. She will too. She can get by on her own for now."
"The thing is she doesn't have to. Doing it alone doesn't make it easier."
"It's not supposed to be easy, Buck."
Steve watched as the gears in his brain turned. After a moment Bucky moved past him and left.
............................................................................
Wanda flinched when she heard a knock at the door. "Ms. Maximoff? Are you awake?" She sighed at the voice. Carefully, she got out of bed and walked to the door to open it. "You should really be using the wheelchair, it'll make things so much easier." Shuri stated as she walked in.
"S-Sorry," Wanda whispered, scared that she had probably upset her.
"There is no need to be. If you're more comfortable standing and walking then go ahead." She set the tray on her bedside table. "Did you sleep well last night?"
