The Mimic

121

It was from Bucky. The letter was really from Bucky.

Y/n held the envelope in her hands as if it were made of glass as she made her way toward the bed. An excited smile had appeared on her face, something that hadn't been seen in months. She quickly sat down on the bed, flipping the envelope over so she could open it. Of course, the envelope had already been opened by Bruce to ensure that there weren't any plans to help her escape, but y/n didn't care. She carefully pulled out the letter, almost unable to manage her joy at the writing that she could already read. 

Y/n took a deep breath, biting the insides of her cheeks in attempt to hide her smile, but it didn't work. It was a letter from Bucky. She had to read it.

'Dearest Darlene,

How are you? I hope you and your family are holding up well in your new neighbourhood. Golly, do I have some stories to tell you!'

Y/n had to pause for a moment, setting the letter down on the blanket in front of her. A fond smile was plastered across her face as she glanced over at the wall, acting as if she was looking at a camera. Of course he used 'Golly'. Of course. She knew that Bucky was in the character of Fred, but she couldn't get over that cheesy word. She could already imagine the stupid grin on his face when he wrote that.

'Do you remember that time when we were having a coffee at the local shop (I know we used to do that every day, I know. But this time was different!) and you told me about your amazing travel plans? Well, I decided to book myself one of your lavish ideas! As you can see by the photos attached, I travelled to Romania!

The flight there wasn't very fun. I barely had any room in my seat! I'll tell you right now, Darlene, it's definitely not as luxurious as our private jet. Oh, but the most embarrassing part was having to go through security! My arm kept setting off the metal detector! At least thirty people had to listen to me argue that I couldn't remove my arm to go through the metal detector. So embarrassing!'

Y/n couldn't help but audibly laugh, cherishing every word as much as she could. The idea of Bucky setting off a metal detector was so funny to her. She'd never really thought about it before, especially because they usually took the quinjet everywhere. But imagining him going bright red out of embarrassment as the metal detector beeped was something that put a fond smile on her face. God, she wished that she could've seen it in person.

'Did you know that they have the most exquisite plums? Well, of course you do, you were the one that told me about them! I hope you don't mind, but I took your map with me. I just couldn't bear to see it gathering dust. Plus, I can follow all of your instructions for sightseeing!

I took photos for every single part of my trip, just for you. Forgive me though, as the photos aren't the greatest, but I tried my hardest! Now you can imagine that you visited Romania too. Isn't that great? Your instructions for sightseeing were so helpful! I even booked the exact hotel room that you wrote down, and the view was so very divine. Maybe you can visit once you're settled in your new neighbourhood?

Say, do let me know when you are settled, Darlene. I think it's due time for us to go on vacation together. What do you think? A little Fred and Darlene vacation, just like the old times.

Let me know what you think, 

Fred xx' 

Y/n's smile begun to falter slightly as she reached the end of the letter. She didn't want it to end, it was so perfect. And the fact that Bucky wrote it in the character of Fred just made it even better. It just reminded her of the happier times that she'd had with Bucky.

She begun to blink back the tears as she reached into the envelope, pulling out the photos that Bucky had taken. They were beautiful, mostly blurry, but beautiful. The majority of the photos were different views and buildings, but the one that stood out the most was a picture that Bucky had taken of himself.

He was sat on a bench with the brightest smile on his face. But, the most distracting thing was the fact that a teddy bear was sat beside him. The teddy bear was dressed almost exactly like y/n. It even had a little wig on and a pair of sunglasses. Bucky had his arm wrapped around the teddy bear as if it were really her, his head even tilted to the side as if he was posing along with her. Just in case y/n hadn't realised that the teddy bear was supposed to be her, Bucky had drawn an arrow toward the bear in permanent ink. And, beside the arrow were the words 'It's you!' in bold lettering. 

Y/n stared down at the photo with a fond smile, laughing to herself once again. She could see the smudges where the pen hadn't actually stuck to the photo, but it just made it ten times better. God, Bucky was so stupid. But she wouldn't have it any other way. He'd put so much effort in for her, it was amazing.

However, the sadness of the letter being over soon came back. She sniffled slightly, her eyes glued to the photos and the letter. She could read Bucky's writing for hours on end. She wanted to respond to Bucky. To have any sort of interaction with somebody other than Bruce. But she couldn't, and that hurt. Y/n sighed, rubbing her thumbs over the worn paper than the letter was written on. That couldn't be the end of the letter. It couldn't. They hadn't been able to interact in months, Bucky wouldn't just give a jokey letter, right?

Y/n had to figure out if she was right or not. She continued to blink back the tears as she slowly flipped the letter over, refusing to look at first. She didn't want to disappoint herself. But, as she looked down at the letter, relief washed over her worried mind.

Y/n was right. Bucky had written something on the back.

'Hi Doll,

I really hope that you're doing okay, but I know you too well to lie to myself like that. The nightmares are getting worse for me too. 

You will get out of there, y/n. I promise that you will. And when you do, I'll be right there to greet you and tell you the cheesiest compliments you can imagine. Just keep pushing through for me, okay? Don't give up. I'll be waiting out here for you for as long as it takes. I'm not going anywhere. 

I just can't wait to see that smile again. 

I love you, y/n.

Bucky'

As soon as y/n finished reading, one of her tears hit the paper, causing the ink around it to smudge. 

She let out a heavy breath, setting the letter down as she stared over at the wall. Her heart hurt. It was so, so bittersweet. Of course she was overjoyed that she was finally able to hear from Bucky, but the pain of missing him was immense. Y/n didn't think that she had any tears left to cry, yet here she was, crying once again. All she wanted was to be in his arms again, to hear his voice, and to see that cheesy smile. But she couldn't. She was alone.

At least y/n had the photos to look at, but it would never be the same as actually being around Bucky. God, she missed him so much.