Infatuation | Bucky Barnes

Chapter Forty Four

The ring on Catherine's finger felt like it was staring at her, well, more like teasing her as she boarded the quinjet a week later. She was going to have to tell Tony and she was fucking terrified. He had no idea where she had really been the past almost seven months. He assumed she was seeing the world like she had always wanted to. It wasn't a total lie. She did make a few stops at different countries occasionally, but he didn't know that she had seen Bucky and was now engaged to him.

He would be angry, upset and maybe even disappointed, but he would understand. She hoped so at least. They were family after all and they only had each other left. It still did nothing to soothe any of the nerves she was having. She could lie, but she didn't want too anymore. She wanted Tony to get to know Bucky and Vice versa. She wanted to create a family with Pepper and Tony and Bucky and her.

It was late when she returned back to the compound. Everyone who was there was asleep and she didn't see Tony anywhere. He had been spending most of his time working on a cabin he bought for Pepper and him. Tony liked all of the remaining Avengers, but he was about to get married. He needed his own space with his wife. So, she snuck off to her room undetected.

Morning came early thanks to the time change between Wakanda and New York. She didn't want to get up. She didn't want to have to gain the courage to tell Tony. To make things easier, she left the ring on her side table. She wanted to be able to tell him when she was ready. She didn't want him to see it first thing and start asking questions. She slid out of her bed and took a quick shower before putting on a pair of leggings and a t shirt.

She grabbed her work laptop before walking out to the kitchen. Her plan was to take most of the day easy, catch up on work and keep working on her proposition to the United Nations. It had been a thought in her mind for a while. She wanted all of her friends back under one roof, including Bucky. They had been on the run for nearly a year and Catherine felt like they had been punished enough. However, she knew convincing the United Stations not to arrest them the minute they stepped foot on US soil was going to be difficult.

"What are you working on?" Rhodey asked, making her jump.

Catherine slammed her laptop shut and looked up at him as he made himself breakfast. She was scared it was Tony, at first. "Nothing."

"Why are you so jumpy? That's out of character for you." Rhodey noticed.

"I'm not jumpy." She lied.

Rhodey froze. "You weren't watching porn were you?"

"What? No! I'm..." she took a moment to ask herself if she wanted Rhodey to know what she was working on. "I'm writing a letter/speech to the United Nations that proposes the idea of allowing Steve, Sam, Wanda, Natasha and Bucky back into the country. While I'm confident in my writing abilities, I don't know if they'll listen to me."

"I could help."

Catherine looked at him confused. "Help?"

"Yes. I've got a few connections thanks to my position in the Air Force. I helped Tony when they were trying to take his suit away. Why not help another Stark. But." He paused.

"There's a catch?" She asked.

"More like a favor. In an effort to make myself look cool and to get my mom off my ass, you have to go with me to that gala I've been trying to get you to go to the past almost four years."

"Ugh. Fine and thank you, Rhodey." She said genuinely. "I will let you know the details if I decide to go ahead with it."

"Go ahead with what, Kitty Cat?" Tony asked, interrupting their conversation.

Catherine's eyes went wide. Her brother was standing there. Right in front of her. She was engaged to the man who killed their parents. She started to panic, but tried to calm herself. She couldn't give him any indication that something was going on. "Tony, I've told you not to call me that stupid nickname."

"Yeah? Well, I could call you many other names I have for you instead. Little Assassin. Mini Black Widow. My almost murderer." He told her as he got himself a bottle of water out of the fridge.

"Gees. You almost kill your brother once and he never lets you live it down." She said sarcastically. She knew she needed to talk to him. She could keep skirting around the topic, but she knew eventually it would just come out. "Hey, Tony? Can I talk to you?"

Rhodey looked between the two siblings and could tell that Catherine wanted to be alone with her brother. He silently excused himself. Tony leaned against the kitchen counter and looked at his sister. She looked like she was going to be sick any second. Her face was pale. Her eyes had bags under them indicting she had not been sleeping.

"You okay, Catherine?" Tony asked.

"Not really. I'm going to speak and what I'm going to say, you may not like. I just want you to hear me out. Okay?"

"Okay..."

"I'm...engaged." Her sentence, while short, was also blunt. There was really no way to lay it on him gently.

Tony narrowed his eyes as if he were having issues processing what she was saying. "Engaged? I didn't even know you were dating someone."

"It's, um, complicated. I-I'm engaged to Bucky."

"Bucky? Like Bucky Barnes? Like the man who killed our parents?" Tony asked.

"Yes."

Tony shrank back slightly. He thought he had heard her incorrectly. He knew his sister loved him. He knew that her feelings for him were conflicted after learning the truth about what he did. He was trying his best to stay calm for Catherine when in reality he wanted to yell. She had asked him to listen and so he would.

"I don't understand. How did this happen?" Tony asked.

"I've been seeing him...in Wakanda. T'Challa invited me, actually. They felt it would be beneficial for his rehabilitation." She replied. "I know this looks bad."

"Just slightly."

"I know he killed mom and dad, but it wasn't him. He didn't have choice. Believe me when I say I didn't imagine myself forgiving him and falling in love with him again."

Tony ran a hand through his hair, trying to hide his frustration. "Why are you telling me this? It puts us both at risk. He's technically a criminal."

"Because, you're my brother and I want you to be happy for me. Which brings me to my second topic I wish to discuss." She opened her laptop to the word document she had up and turned it around so he could see it. "I'm trying to bring everyone home and get them pardoned, including Bucky. Rhodey said he would help. I would like your help as well."

"Catherine, do you know how difficult it was to get the United Nations not to throw us in prison? Getting everyone back is nearly impossible. The world isn't ready to forgive them yet. I know you love him, Catherine. I know he makes you happy, but can you see yourself having a normal life with him? His past will follow him wherever he goes. You won't be able to have a big wedding or live in a house with him or have a family."

Catherine blinked back tears. She knew Tony was right. His words were the same words that had also lingered in the back of her mind. She would find a way though to be with him. "I can try."

"I will support you in anything you do, but I'm begging you, don't get yourself thrown into prison or even killed. I do want you to find happiness one day and if that's with Bucky...so be it. Just don't make any rash decisions." He told her. He glanced down at the laptop and then back at her. "Your letter is really good by the way. If I was on the UN committee, I'd have a hard time saying no to you."

"Thank you, Tony." She told him.

Catherine watched him leave the kitchen and she slumped back in her seat. She was going to have to think of someway to marry Bucky in a creative, legal manner. One that wouldn't get them in trouble even if the UN turned them down. The worst case scenario was that she moved to Wakanda with T'Challa's permission. An idea struck her in an instant. She pulled out her phone and dialed Shuri's number.

"Hey, Shuri." She said. "I've got an idea."