Hard to Love (Bucky Barnes fanfic)

Chapter 41

Just a reminder, y'all are gonna have some words for this chapter but trust me and the process! Enjoy :)

"What happened out there Tony?"

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"How's she holding up?"

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"Where's Shuri?"

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"It's your fault she's even like this!"

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"Her eyes were purple and black..."

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"Why was she in your shirt Barnes?"

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"Her vitals are steady."

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"Back off Stark."

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"We need to send her to Wakanda for them to fully examine her."

I scrunch my face as my senses all came back to me and I could hear the familiar steady beeping of a heart rate monitor next to me

"God would you all just shut up?" I groan out in discomfort, voice cracking like a teenagers going through puberty

I flicker my eyes open to the softly lit medical room

Must've learned from my last trip here

"Hey- hey it's just me here." Bruce spoke gently but with a hint of confusion in his words

I slowly lull my head in the direction of his voice, furrowing my brows. "But I just heard I'm going to Wakanda? Where did everyone go?" I ask, glancing around the empty room. Bruce lowers his clipboard as he finishes writing down whatever information was on my machine

"That was an hour ago. Dr. Cho gave them the boot when things got.. tense." He sighs briefly, a somber look in his eyes

I slowly move my arms next to my hips, my muscles screaming in pain as I do, and push myself up to a semi sitting position. I let out a groan as I stretch my limbs as it felt like my body had just been through a blender. Bruce helps me to adjust the bed so I'm more comfortable

"What do you mean by tense?" I ask, leaning back against the bed. He looks to his shoes, slowly dragging them up to reach my gaze with his lips in a tight line

"Tony lashed out at Barnes which started a huge ordeal- what're you doing?" Bruce pauses his statement as he watches me pull out the IV from my arm in worry

"Settling this." I state in a deadpan

I conceal another pained groan as I shift to the edge of the bed, slightly wincing every once in a while as I stood. It's in that moment that I realize I'm in a pair of my sweatpants and lose fitting shirt. When I look down in bewilderment, Bruce quickly catches on

"Natasha changed you. Said you'd prefer that over the surgical gown." He answered my silent question

I nod curtly, mentally thanking her for knowing me so well, and stumble towards the door fighting the pain of my tight muscles. Bruce offers his arm to grab onto and lean against while we exit the room and medical facility. He tells me where everyone was headed earlier and we take a chance on going there first, hopping someone's still around. Once we draw closer to the meeting room, my unspoken question is answered as the sound of arguing can be heard

I release my hold on Bruce and straighten my stance, pushing my shoulders back and holding my head high, determination staining my brain. Bruce lingers behind me at a cautionary distance, probably not convinced that I'm good enough to stand, let alone walk, on my own yet. I round the corner to the room just as Steve had stood from his seat to get in Tony's face about whatever they were all bickering about