THE FADING FALLEN ● Bucky Barnes X OC ● 18+ ● ENGLISH [COMPLETE]

Chapter 39

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Not half an hour later, Bucky climbed the stairs.

Actually, he wanted to give Emilia the space she needed. But what she told him left him no peace. Neither did her words, nor what had happened in the dodgy back alley.

He couldn't and didn't want to imagine what she did or thought she had to do in the past years. The image of giving away herself to some men in order to get something from them that might help her to find a purpose in life, burned itself deeply into his mind.

And although it pained him to the core to see Emilia now so hurt and resigned in front of him, Bucky could understand why she was doing it.

She lay half on her back in the bed. Her face and bent knees were turned toward the window through which the dim light of the city fell.

The pale skin of her bare arms and legs contrasted with the charcoal-colored bed sheet beneath her and the bright turquoise of her shorts. It testified once again that Emilia had been out only at night for far too long and didn't get much sunlight - quite the opposite of when she was in Wakanda.

Completely lost in thought, she stared at one of the skyscraper facades across the river. The attempt to get some sleep failed again.

It wasn't until the moment she sighed and looked up at the ceiling that she noticed Bucky in the soft light of the small bedside lamp.

He stood leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed, looking at her.

"Yeah, I know. No one has any business here. I'll be out in a sec."

"It's okay." Staring back at the ceiling of the room, Emilia covered her eyes with her forearm.

"I'm sorry. The things I hurled at you... especially the blip one. That wasn't fair. Maybe it was just a moment for you and everyone else... you fell from one mess to the next without mercy just the same."

She couldn't see his indifferent shrug.

"It's nothing new to me. I've already gotten used to these time jumps. Nothing can shock me that quickly anymore."

Emilia's gaze darted to him. She hadn't actually realized until now that this was something he'd had to go through countless times with Hydra. Without saying anything, she straightened up and remained cross-legged with her head down, facing the sheet below her.

In her profile, Bucky thought he saw a hint of frustration mixed with the cynical tone of her voice.

"That's the one thing that will probably never change. Hydra follows us - no matter where we go..."

He knew nothing to say in response. A small strand of hair came loose from her braided pigtail and fell across her cheek. For a moment an unspeakable silence settled over them.

Bucky looked depressed to the floor. However, only until he heard Emilia's broken voice.

"I have no right to say this. But... I thought I had lost you again."

As if a dagger were piercing his chest, it ran through him. Staring at her fingers, she continued to speak, watching herself play with the thin fabric of the sheet.

"After Thanos wiped out half of humanity, a part of me was suddenly gone, too. Then when Dr. Banner was able to undo everything, I thought I was going to get that very same part back as well... That wasn't the case."

Emilia sank down. Wrapping her arms around herself like a little child, she had no strength left to carry it all in.

"I just couldn't see it for a long time - until yesterday."