ʜɪꜱ ꜱᴀᴠɪᴏʀ ━ Bucky Barnes/Avengers

19: the life he wanted

Tony booked us a flight as soon as we arrived back at the apartment and gave Steve a call. He picked a time as early as tomorrow, so Bucky and I began to pack.

I didn't think he would actually say yes. It's been on my mind for the whole day and I was sure he wasn't ready but, here we were, packing our things instead of sleeping. I was excited that we were finally going back home, though I didn't outwardly express it too much. Bucky, on the other hand, seemed distant. He did everything quietly, not uttering a single word to me even whenever we walked past one another. I thought of what could have happened that made him this way, but nothing popped in mind.

What if he remembers?

No, if he did, he would've told me by now. He wouldn't keep it to himself.

We only had hours left until our flight and I had finish mostly everything since I didn't have much to pack. Bucky chose to leave the place furnished, only packing what he needed and leaving the rest here. More so, I was ready to leave Romania. But Bucky's silence said otherwise.

He's been resting out on the balcony ever since, staring into the night. I follow him outside after contemplating whether to talk to him or not.

I stop next to him, "Hey."

He turns his head, startled for a second, before looking back, "Hey." I notice him subtly taking a step away from me, saddening me, but I decided to ignore it.

"Are you ready? Our flight's in a couple of hours." I ask as I rested with him.

"Yeah."

"You don't sound too excited." I joke.

He shakes his head, "It's not that. I'm just... thinking."

"About what?"

"Nothing much."

I look up in the dark sky, spotting grey clouds forming in the distance. "It seems like it's going to rain," I tell him.

He gives a simple nod, not even looking up, "Yeah."

His short responses made me assume that he wasn't just staying quiet, but he was also avoiding me. My hands reach to touch his arm, "Bucky, are you-"

Suddenly I feel his body tense up more than it already was as he flinches and pushes my hand away. Shocked, my eyes widen and my chest sinks deep while I see his fill with sudden guilt.

He looks away, "Please... don't touch me."

His plead left me speechless. I've seen him as the Winter Soldier, someone who was lost and vulnerable, but I've never seen him like this. I caught a glimpse of his eyes, but I couldn't read him.

"Bucky I'm sorry, I-" He storms back inside, bumping my shoulder in the process. I follow after him as he rushes to the door, making my fear kick in.

"Where are you going?" I ask him as my breath quickens, but I knew he wasn't going to answer me. He continues his way as I'm almost begging for him to stay, "Wait, please!" I chase him down the stairs, continuously calling out to him until we were met with the night air. Soft thunder could be heard in the distance as a droplet of rain lands on my hair, but I disregard it. He slows down his pace, but still walking away, unaware that I was still running towards him.

When he glances back, he lets out a huff. "Go back inside Diane."

"You avoid me the whole day, you run away without saying anything and now you want me to go away?" I yell at him, "Can you please just stop for a second?!"

He finally halts in place, his back facing me, making me stop too. I bent over to hold my knees, steadying the pace of my heavy breathing. When I do, I stood straight back up.