When Skies are Gray

Come Back to Me.

I can't help but be a little angry with James. He told me he wouldn't leave me then did. I know he wants to get revenge for what those men made him do, but I don't understand why he'd let that between us.
"JARVIS please find Steve and James's location and let me know once you find them." I say aloud and try to get out of bed.
"Y/n what are you doing? You're going to rip your stitches." Peter says forcing me back onto the bed.
"Let me go Peter I'm going to get them." I say. I don't have a plan yet but I will.
"No. You can't. I told them I'd make you stay here." Peter responds and shoots his web on my hand so now I'm stuck to the post of the bed.
"Peter. You have 5 seconds to get this off of me." I say angrily.
He shakes his head.
"Mr. Rogers and Mr. Barnes have been located Miss y/n." JARVIS says. "Would you like they're location?"
"No!"
"Yes!"
Peter and I respond at the same time then look at each other.
"JARVIS don't tell her anything she could get hurt!" Peter says
"Yes sir Mr. Parker." The AI responds.
Now I'm really mad.
"Peter listen. I just lost my dad how do you think I'll get by without Steve or James? Just let me go I'll use a suit that my dad made and I'll be fine." I say trying to bargain with Peter.
"No y/n you can hardly stand up on your own..." he looks around thinking for a minute, "I'll go after them!" He shouts proud that he came up with the plan himself.
"No I can't ask you to do that." I say "I'm not going to allow another friend to put themselves in harms way for me." I added.
"You're not asking I'm saying. Besides your dad gave my suit an instant kill mode so I should be fine. I'll bring them back all of them." Peter sits next to me on the bed. He knows what I need to hear to feel better. "JARVIS, please put their locations into my suit and calculate the fastest route for me to get there. Also, make sure my suit is fully equipped and ready for battle." Peter says to the AI.
"And JARVIS connect my phone in my room to peters suit so I can keep up with him easily." I say hoping this will make me messed stressed.
"Everything's ready Mr. Parker." JARVIS responds.
"Okay. Y/n please whatever happens, stay here. If anything else happens to you Steve will kill me and also Bucky will never forgive himself. Stay here for him." Peter says and walks towards the door.
"Okay. Please just keep me updated and let me know as soon as you find them." I say waving him goodbye.
Then he was gone too. I was alone. Why did James leave me?
********** BUCKY'S POV ***********
I feel horrible for leaving while she was asleep, but if I didn't she wouldn't have let me go. I have to find those men. I'm sure they work for HYDRA but what did they want with y/n? It makes no sense, but it will.
"We're approaching the last known location." Natasha says while flying the jet.
"Bucky, you and I will search the building for anyone or anything. Nat stay in the jet. Keep her running." Steve says being the natural leader.
"Will do Cap" Natasha says with a smile.
Steve and I roamed the halls of the abandoned building and saw some left over papers with the hydra symbol on the corners. Nothing important or useful but now we know they were here.
We heard footsteps on the floor above us so we headed up the stairs. Something seems off.
"Steve, does this feel weird to you?" I ask before I see my best friend taken into one room and myself dragged into another.
"BUCKY!" Steve shouts before we get separated by the doors.
I fight my hardest and get free but before I could make a run for it I get knocked in the head and black out.
As I open my eyes I see two figures standing in front of me.
"Good evening Mr. Barnes. Sleep well?" The man on the left jokes while the other chuckles.
"Where's Steve?" I demand not playing into his games.
"Oh he will be gone soon enough, but we have a mission for you." The man says and I know what this means.
"Longing, rusted, furnace, daybreak..."
he's saying the words faster. Probably so I don't try to resist. All I can think about was y/n and what I did to her last time The Winter Soldier was released. I can't let that happen again. I didn't know if this would work but I closed my eyes and saw her. I pictured her next to me at the beach and laying next to me in my bed. Anything she's ever done is going through my head. Anything to try and keep me, me.
"Seventeen, benign, nine..."
I can't let her lose me again. She's lost so much. I need to fight harder than ever for her. I need to go back to her.
"Homecoming, one, freight car."
My eyes close and I can feel the ache in my head of HIM trying to come through but I push it back. I fight for her. Once I realize that I'm still me I realize I need to make them think I'm not.
"Ready to comply." I say with a emotionless stare. I hope they don't see through this. "Your mission is to go back to the avenger tower, find y/n Stark. And kill her as soon as you're close enough. Do you understand?" They say. They believe me, they think I'm HIM.
I nod my head and sit still until they untie me.
"You will tell Steve Rogers that they let you go and warned you to not come back. Pretend to be normal." They order and I nod again.
As I open the door to leave one of the men gets suspicious.
"Wait!"
I swear they can hear my heart about to beat out of my chest.
"Before you go, take this and stab yourself in the leg." The man orders. I know I have to do it without questioning it. How bad could it be.
I swing my arm up then back down into my leg with the blade. I scrunch my face but don't make a sound.
"Okay. You can go don't forget you have to pretend to be normal." The man says then I go to the other room to find Steve. Once I know we're alone I hurry to him and untie him.
"Steve! They tried to turn me but it didn't work I'm still me! We have to follow them and get rid of them for good. I don't know if I could fight the urge off again." I tell him quietly.
Steve's face is concerned. "Okay. Let's go." He says questioningly. As we get up Steve pulls out a communicator from his waistband and types something.
"What are you doing?" I ask thinking he trusts me.
"Nothing Buck. Let's go get them." Before he's able to put the communicator away I grab it and look.
It was a message to Natasha. "Bucky isn't Bucky."
"Steve I'm telling the truth! Tell me what I can do to make you believe me!" I say I need him on my side or he will second guess himself.
"Tell me something only my best friend would know from the 40s." Steve suggests so I think. We're waisting time but I need to know he still trust me.
"Well when we went to Coney Island and I made you ride that ride and you had to run off because you were about to throw up in the ground but luckily found a trash can and then...." I was going to continue but he stops me.
"Okay fine I trust you. Let's go." He says knowing it's me now. I laugh and less the way. As we make our way up the staircase the hydra agents went to we hear some struggling, so we hurry to the roof.
We found a helicopter completely covered in webs?
Suddenly, Peter Parker jumps down right in front of us.
"Ta da!" Peter says with his hands up like he's just done a magic trick.
Steve and I glance at each other and can't help but laugh at the teenagers success.
"Great job kid." Steve says. "Nat, bring the jet up to the roof." He says into the communicator.
"They got away." I say and Peter nods.
"They didn't get far. They'll turn up sometime." Steve says.
******* normal POV ********
I sit around in the tower waiting for everyone to get back. Peter brought me a wheelchair before leaving so I could at least go to the bathroom if I needed to. So, I rolled around the level I was on and waited for them to get back. When I rolled past the window I caught a glimpse of a jet heading towards the building. Finally, it's them. Peter hadn't called and Jarvis wouldn't tell me anything thanks fo Peter. I waited right next to the elevator and then I heard a ding. It was nat and Peter.
"Oh thank God you two are alright." I say holding my arms up for both of them to hug me. Then I noticed the two others missing. My heart sinks.
"Peter. Where are they?" I ask with tears forming in my eyes. He leans down to me and rubs my arms to calm me down.
"It's alright y/n. They're just dealing with something on a lower level of the tower. They're coming up soon. Both of them." He says and a sigh of relief escapes my lips. Nat and Peter turn the corner to go to the kitchen because Peter was "starving." But I waited by the elevator for the two to come up. I needed to see James. Suddenly the elevator dings again. It's Steve.
"I'm glad you're back. You really scared me." I say and he leans down to hug me.
"I'm sorry peanut. We just wanted to try and help Bucky." He says.
"I know. It's okay. I'm just glad you guys are safe." I say and he pats my head like the kid he thinks I am and walks to the kitchen.
Where's James?
I waited a few more minutes until I joined the others in the kitchen. I wasn't happy with James. I was angry, but I still wanted him back with me. As we sat around in the kitchen waiting on Peter and Nat to finish cooking, I see Steve turn and look at something behind me. So I turn around and see James standing in the doorway. I don't think he likes seeing me in a wheelchair.
"James!" I shout and try to stand up and succeed only to wobble around. Luckily, Peter is right there to help me the rest of the way to James. I grab his hand and pull him into a hug. Even though he's almost completely holding me up it's still nice to have him back.
"You said you wouldn't leave me." I say on the verge of tears. "What if something would've happened to you or what if you didn't come back to..." my words get cut off when James's hands are around my throat. What is he doing? I flail trying to get out of his grasp but his metal hand makes it impossible for me to fight back. Peter, Steve and Nat are on top of him within seconds trying to pry him off of me. I can feel my eyes start to ache with how hard he's squeezing my throat. Peter shoots his webs onto James's face so he can't see and Steve pries his hands off me. I fall back into Nat's arms and cough.
"James what are you doing!" I shout with my croaky voice. All of a sudden he passed out and is laying on his back on the ground.
"Are you alright let me see!" Steve says coming to me and moving my hands so he can see my throat.
"I'm fine." My voice is raspy my voice box was probably smashed.
"Don't speak y/n you'll make it worse. Let's get you some ice. And we will put you on the couch." Nat says like she's expedited something like this before.
What did I do? Was it not James?
After a few minutes of coughing and drinking water Steve speaks. "I shouldn't have trusted him. It's my fault I'm sorry."
"Is that what your message meant?" Nat asked. What message.
"Yes. I tried to warn you to be prepared but he was so convincing I don't know how. When he wakes up he should be Bucky." Steve says and we hear the soldier coughing on the ground.
"What is on my face?" He shouts trying to rip it off. Peter goes over and helps him and now James can see what he did.
"Wha- what happened?" He asked trying to come to me but Steve pushes him away.
"You don't remember do you? Because it wasn't you again." Steve says with sadness behind his eyes.
James looks at me and sees the bruising around my throat and my blood shot eyes.
"I did this? What happened Steve? The last thing I remember is us getting separated in factory." James says. It makes me feel better knowing it wasn't him it was the winter soldier.
"James it's fine. Please just don't try and leave again. If anyone knows those words they can hurt you with them or worse." I say with a scratchy voice. James moves around Steve to come sit next to me and hold me tight.
"This time is the last time I'll let this happen. Next time I'll do what needs to be done." Steve says and leaves the room. He was mad or stressed I'm not sure. He knows I need someone to look after me since my dad is gone but it doesn't have to be him.
James holds me to his chest and Peter and Nat sit on the other side of the couch. I can tell they don't trust him and want to stay close.
"Please don't leave again." I say with my head in his chest. I feel like as long as I keep him close he won't leave me again.
"I wanted to do right by you and bring those men to justice." He says rubbing my arm. "I'm sorry I shouldn't have gone I could've killed you." He says I can feel his heart beating faster.
"I forgive you. Can I ask you something?"
"Of course. Anything."
"Why can't I call you Bucky?" I say looking up at him and smiling.
"You can if you want." He says smiling back.
"Okay. Bucky." I say it feels a little weird but good.
"Can we both promise each other to not getting taken again? I know it's a hard promise, but we just have to stay a little more aware of surroundings and that should help a lot." Bucky says with his hand on my cheek.
"I promise." I say
"Me too" he responds.
"What if you train me!" I say with excitement in my eyes. "Once I'm all better you can train me, so I know how to fight and defend myself!" I add.
Bucky looks at me like he's going to say no, but then he thinks about how it could help.
"Fine. But we go by my rules for this." He says and I nod.
I'm excited to learn how to defend myself. Especially since we don't know why those men want me dead so bad.
**** 1 week later ****
"Come on Bucky! You said you'd train me and I'm so much better now!" I say walking around and doing little twirls without falling from the pain.
"No y/n. It's too soon. Maybe another week." He says but I'm not taking that as an answer.
"What if we just start lifting wait or something. I need to build muscle or nothing is going to help." I say and he looks at me with that Bucky is annoyed face.
"Fine we can lift but nothing too strenuous and only upper body. Your legs are still too weak to use the muscles that much." He says and I jump into his arms and hug his neck. I really was excited. He could tell because he spun us around and kissed my cheek.
We go into the gym and find Steve training with Peter. Steve took over for my dad, after he died.
"Hey guys! Bucky's gonna let me start lifting!" I tell the two boys. Their faces turn into worried looks.
"You sure you ready for the y/n? It's only been a week." Peter says and I nod my head.
"Peanut I'm not sure if it's a good..."
"I'm doing it! I will stop if it hurts but I'm doing it. Now are you guys gonna help me or not." I say angrily. I didn't mean to blow up at them but I'm not sure if they're worried about me or just don't want me to get strong. Who knows.
"Ok start with this." Bucky says and put a bar with no weights on the rack.
"I'm sure I can do more than that!" I say arguing.
"No I'm sure you can't. It's 45 pounds. Try to bench press it." Bucky says. Even when he's annoyed he's cute.
I lay in the bench and try to lift the bar up. Not even a budge.
Peter can't help but laugh standing beside Steve. Which makes Steve smack the back of his head.
"I'm sure you couldn't do it either if you weren't a spider monkey!" I say to Peter which quiets him down.
"It's Spider-Man..." he whispers back and walks away pouting.
"Y/n why don't we just try some 20 pound dumbbells and do some slow stuff. You have to start somewhere that you won't get hurt." Steve says while handing me some smaller weights.
I can do this. I repeat over and over to myself. I just have to start.
"One!" Bucky says excited for me.
Once I got to five, I was beat.
"Good job y/n! We can progress from there and once you continue practicing you'll get stronger and stronger." Bucky says after giving me and high five.
He's right. I can do this I gotta keep trying.
"You know this would be much easier if I had a super human serum..." I say throwing shade at Steve. "Yeah I've seen the before photos." I add with a smirk.
"Oh hush. Have you ever jumped on a grenade?" He says. I let out a laugh and keep trying to lift the weights.
**** a few months later ****
I can finally do the bar by myself easily. Bucky has never been so proud of me and I'm proud of myself too. Since my legs are all healed up now Dr. Banner said it's fine to start training my legs.
I can feel myself getting stronger. I know in the long run this will help me a lot.
As I'm trying to lift weights someone comes up behind me and covers my eyes with their hands.
"You have 1 guess." The person says.
I'd know that voice and these hands anywhere.
"Hmmmm.... I don't know..... Bucky!" I shout which ends up startling him. We both laughs and he places a kiss on my cheek.
"It's time to take a break from weights. I have a surprise for you." He says softly against my ear. He knows that drives me crazy.
I leave the gym and go to change clothes. I ended up moving into the avenger tower and live in a different hallway from Bucky. Close enough that I feel safe but I still have my space. Almost as soon as I'm done getting ready there's a knock on the door.
I open it to see Bucky with a bouquet of flowers and a card. Did I forget something?
"Happy birthday y/n!" He says and I shush him immediately. My birthday isn't something I want to celebrate especially this year.
"What's wrong?" He asks as a pull him into my room and shut the door, hoping no one else heard.
"I don't really want to celebrate my birthday this year." I say looking at the ground. With my dad being gone it's the first time I'm alone for my birthday.
"Well we don't have to say it's for your birthday but I'm still taking you out." He says knowing the reason for my sadness on my birthday.
"Fine. I can't believe I'm 26 I'm getting old." I say. It realizing that Bucky is way older.
"Yeah I'll say! Is that a wrinkle I see?" He says making fun of me. It was cute I began to love the attention. "Are you ready to go? I have something special planned." He says.
"Yes I'm ready." I say with a grin from ear to ear.
We drove his bike into the city. The lights from all the buildings looked beautiful. I was mesmerized by the sight.
"Where are we going?" I shout so he can hear me. Instead of responding he turns his head and smirks. We come to a stop at a dock with dozens of little boats. Bucky leads me down the dock and stops in front of a beautiful sail boat. He speaks with a man for a minute then helps me onboard.
"This is so cool Bucky!" I say with a smile. He loves seeing me happy.
Suddenly, the boats starts moving away from the dock.
"You know how to sail?" I ask and he nods with a smile. That's hot.
We sail for a little bit before coming to a stop where we have a perfect view of the city. As we sit there he keeps checking his watch, he must have something else planned.
After a few moments of silence and being in awe of the view, Bucky grabs my hands and turns me to him.
"Y/n, we have known each other for a few months now, and I've never been so happy. I don't know what I'd do without you, honestly. After everything we've been through I think it's only far to ask... will you be my girlfriend?" He says and all of a sudden fireworks start going off down the entire city line of the buildings. It's like every rooftop has fireworks.
Oh wait. Every building does have fireworks.
"Did you plan that?" I ask because if not he has impeccable timing.
"Yeah. It's for you." He says waiting for an answer.
I smile at him and watch the fireworks go off in the distance. This is perfect. I turn and look at him again and his eyes haven't turned away from me.
"Yes!" I say and he raises his eyebrows. "I'll be your girlfriend Bucky." I say smile and rubbing my thumb on his hand. The joy on his face, it's like nothing I've ever seen before. His smile was brighter than the fireworks.
His lips met mine and it was like a scene from a romance movie. It's a little extravagant for my taste, but I've never been so happy. Bucky is mine. I am his.
"How did you get those to go off so perfectly?" I ask still in awe from the pretty show.
"Peter. I helped him load up the rooftops, and at exactly 8 pm sharp he started swinging like a spider monkey to light them all in order." He says. I'll have to thank Peter for that.
"Thank you for this Bucky. You've made me feel so happy even when I thought today would suck." I say leaning on his shoulder.
"There's another surprise. If you want this one is optional." He says which makes me wonder.
"So, I rented this boat until tomorrow morning... and there's a room down below. Do you wanna have a sleepover on the boat?" He asks I can tell he really want to and I don't think there's anything in the world that would take me away from this.
"I'd love to Bucky. Wait what about clothes?"
"Already done. I snuck into your room earlier and packed an overnight bag for you. Nat helped."
He really thought of everything. I can't help but smile.
Even after being with each other all these months we haven't slept together since that first night in his room when I had the nightmares. I've been too scared that he'd get worried about me, because I think they've gotten worse. I know he won't be angry but I hate when he worries about me.
As we make our way down below I open the bag Bucky and Nat packed for me and on top was a note from Nat.
"I'm happy for you two. Don't let anything take this time from you. -Natasha"
Like last time, Bucky turned around while I changed. He knew I wasn't ready for anything and that made me feel safe. Once I'm dressed in shorts and a T-shirt I turn to Bucky.
"All clear sergeant." I say in a deep voice. He turns to me and laughs then admires me.
"You look beautiful y/'n."
"Shut up." I say trying not to blush. Then heading to the bed and getting in the covers. I notice him making a little palette on the floor.
"What are you doing?" I ask not really wanting him to sleep on the floor.
"I just thought you'd be more comfortable if I slept down here. I don't want you to do something you don't want." He says to me with an affectionate tone.
"I know Bucky. But I think I'm okay with you sleeping with me. I like when you hold me, it keeps me warm." I say making room in the bed.
"Even with this." He says then moves around his metal arm. I can tell he's insecure about it. I stand up right in front of him.
"Bucky you're perfect just the way you are." I say and kiss his metal shoulder.
He plants a kiss on my head then we get into bed.
"Can I hold you?" He asks nicely.
"Yes please." You respond as he puts his arm around you. It doesn't take long for both of you to fall asleep to the sound of each other's breathing.