One | Steve Rogers

35

The next morning, Lauren awakens to see she was laying on Bucky's lap. She looks up at him to see him smiling down at her. She tilts her head as the sun shines down on her smooth skin.

" Where you watching me sleep?" She asks.

" Only for a little bit," Bucky says, " You snore funny."

" Steve said the exact same thing," Lauren smiles.

But, as the words sink in, they both lose their smiles. Lauren sits up against the wall next to Bucky as they ponder in thought. Neither of them have said his name in so long, and yet the wound feels so fresh.

" Can I ask you something?" He says.

" Of course," Lauren responds.

" What happened the day of the funeral?"

Lauren's heart skips a beat as her lungs refuse to take in any air. She sits their, eyes unblinking, as he mind makes her relive the reality she created. All the pain, all the trauma, all the grief, everything. Her denial that sent her spiraling down a dark path. Lauren continues to stare at the ground in front of her as she clears her throat.

" I was... in pain. My heart... my mind... my body... my soul. My entire being was hurting because I knew... this was the end. But then, for whatever reason, I thought... maybe it doesn't have to be. So I cast a spell... I sang this... incantation. At first, I messed with time... but then I started messing with reality. And soon enough, I had created this false realty. A pocket dimension that existed outside of space and time... a place where we could be together... forever...," she pauses to bite the inside of her cheeks as she holds back the tears, " But then... a friend paid me a visit. Told me I was doing more harm than good... harm to his soul. And so I... I... I-I gave it up. I gave him up... I let go."

Bucky looks down to see small flames sparking around her finger tips. He places his fleshed hand over her knee and gives it a gentle squeeze. Lauren sniffles, and the flames soon dissipate.

" It's my curse. I have these powers, I have all these abilities... but I can't keep the people I love. All I had was my best friend and my husband... and that emptiness sticks with me. It's maddening how I can do all these things-- freeze time, warp reality, read people's minds... but I can't, no matter how hard I try, keep the ones I love."

Bucky shifts so he's sitting in front of Lauren and finally draws her attention back to him. He grabs her hand with his fleshed hand as he gazes down into her eyes.

" Show me," He says.

Lauren tilts her head.

" What?" She asks.

" Show me the fake world you made."

Lauren stumbles with her words, but upon flickering her eyes between Bucky's left and right, she takes a deep breath. She slowly brings her hands up to his head with her thumbs resting on his forehead. She closes her and, and he closes his. She seeps into the deep crevices of her mind to pull the memories out so Bucky can see.

He sees how it started off.

In the 50's.

Just so they could have more time.

But then he sees as her powers grew darker and mended reality as she needed it to be mended.

He sees how hard she tried to cling onto Steve... but how she ultimately needed to let him go.

He sees how it left a mark on her soul.

As the memories fade, Lauren slowly moves her hands away as a single tear cascades down her cheek. Bucky opens his eyes and gently wipes the tear away as her eyes open as well. Her eyes set on his, and she suddenly feels a wave of calm crashing over her body. She seeks solace in his eyes and finds comfort in his presence. Their prolonged eye contact soon comes to an end with two beeps from Lauren's phone. She pulls away and grabs her phone to find two messages from Clint.