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11

Bucky had just pulled into the driveway when y/n blasted Geraldine out of Westview.

It was a boom big enough to cause someone's ears to bleed, and Geraldine's scream was nightmare-inducing, yet nobody reacted.

Nobody tried to find the source of the noise. Nobody jumped. Everyone just went on with their day, whether it be casually talking to a neighbour or mowing the lawn. No reaction. Nothing.

Not even Bucky heard it, which was a shock. He'd heard a noise, yes, but he thought he'd hit a trash can or one of the neighbour's cats. Now, in Bucky's defense, he was already extremely shaken up. The whole thing with Norm had chilled him to his core. All the super soldier could hear in his head was Norm begging him for help, it made him feel sick.

Bucky didn't know how to process any of it. The rest of his day had been spent with him complete stuck in his own thoughts, spaced out and staring blankly at the string of photos on the wall of him and y/n. All he wanted to do was go home and talk to his wife about what had happened, nothing else mattered.

The super soldier took a shaky breath, pulling the keys out of the ignition before he climbed out of the car. He felt sick. He had been all day, but standing in front of the house just made him feel even worse. Bucky idly fiddled with his car keys, taking his fedora out from the passenger seat to try and buy some time. He was scared to go inside. He was scared to see his own wife.

However, just before Bucky mustered up the confidence to head inside, his neighbours, Agnes and Herb, caught his eye.

They were whispering. Whispering and watching Bucky. It wasn't a bubbly conversation that he was so used to seeing around town, it was something else, and it was about him. Or at least it seemed like it was about him.

Bucky frowned, a look of confusion riddling his fear-filled eyes as he made his way toward the pair. "Hey..." He started, taking careful steps toward the whispering pair. "Is everything okay?" The super soldier asked, setting a hand on Herb's shoulder to try and defuse the situation. They were obviously talking about something, and Bucky wasn't going to let anyone else lie to him. Not after the day he'd just had. "Did something happen?"

Agnes took a sharp breath, standing up a little straighter as she looked over at Bucky. Her mouth hung open for a few moments, trying to figure out the best words to use. The woman didn't look rude in any way. She'd never be malicious to the Barnes household. She looked nervous. "Nothing happened, no." Agnes started, glancing between Bucky and the house. "It's just-" She let out an exasperated sigh, shoulders falling a little. The woman knew she had to tell Bucky, but she almost felt bad for doing so. "It's about Geraldine." She admitted, eyes continuing to flit between the house and the man stood before her. "You see, she seems a bit... off. No car, no job, no husband-"

"Well, those aren't bad things, are they?" Bucky said with a nervous laugh, taking a few steps back from the pair. God, he'd forgotten how petty the town could be to newcomers. It wasn't fair. Geraldine seemed like a lovely woman, he wasn't going to let the town criticise her without having a proper introduction. Hell, it was a shock the town didn't question him or y/n in any way. They just bought into the Fred and Darlene facade without question. "Look, I-"

"No home." Agnes interrupted, finally showing Bucky the severity of the situation. This wasn't just a bubbly woman bustling around town. This was an outsider. A stranger visiting committee meetings and trying to fit in.

A stranger in the same house as his wife.

Bucky's demeanour dropped, his mind had already begun to expect the worst as he said his goodbyes to Agnes and Herb. His only focus was protecting y/n, he could question her later about Norm. There was a stranger in his house. A stranger that could be dangerous. A stranger that could know about their powers.

The super soldier hurried toward the house, almost tripping up the front steps. He scrambled for his keys, eyes wide with adrenaline. However, as soon as Bucky stepped inside, something felt off.

Something felt eerie.

Bucky shut the door behind him, eyebrows furrowed in utter confusion. The house was silent. No background music, nothing. "Doll? Where's Geraldine?" He called out in a cautious tone, setting his fedora down on the small table beside the door before he began to take his suit jacket off. The super soldier knew better than to just burst into the house, especially when a possibly dangerous person was inside. The last thing he wanted to do was make the situation even worse.

It took a while for y/n to respond. Much longer than Bucky expected, and that just made the man assume that she was in danger. But, when she did respond, it immediately flipped his view on the situation. This time he was in fear for Geraldine.

"Oh, Geraldine had to rush home, honey. Something about a family issue, I think." Y/n's voice sounded from the living room.

She sounded calm. Far too calm, and it sent chills down Bucky's spine. He couldn't even see his wife yet, frozen in place in the entrance hallway of the house. Hell, he almost didn't want to see her. He didn't want to be faced with whatever gruesome scene there was in the living room.

The super soldier swallowed hard, taking slow steps down the hallway. His whole body was screaming at him to turn around and run. But he didn't. He couldn't. That was his wife, even if she was scaring him more than a nightmare ever could. "She left without her shoes, or her bag?" Bucky questioned in a nervous tone, noticing Geraldine's belongings at the end of the hallway.

"Like I said, she had to rush home." Y/n muttered in a slightly more commanding tone.