Do You Trust Me? // Bucky Barnes

20

Bucky

In the hallway, Bucky nodded at Peter, jutting his chin to the bedroom door and watching as the kid disappeared to sit with Ava. His chest ached a little less knowing she wouldn't be sitting alone.

He followed Sam's steady footsteps down the stairs and out of the door into the front yard, where Torres leant against a wide, old oak tree, watching them approach.

He wanted to hit Torres. He knew he couldn't hit Torres.

"You know, you had some pretty great timing in there, Wilson. Thanks for that." His voice was bitter as he glared at his friend, stopping in his tracks before he got close enough for the soldier ahead of them to listen in.

Sam sighed as he stopped. "You sure you know what you're doing there, Buck?" He turned with a resigned frown and held his arms out beside him, shrugging his shoulders in defeat. "Because I'll back off, I will. I'll bite my tongue and trust your judgement..."

"But?" Bucky asked. He knew it wouldn't be that easy.

"But I need you to tell me that you know, without a shadow of doubt, that you can trust her. That we can trust her."

Bucky's smile was small and relieved.

"I trust her," he whispered. "I really trust her, Sam."

Sam raised a single eyebrow and shook his head with a low chuckle. "That's one hell of a change of tune, Metal Man."

"Just, trust me?" Bucky nodded. "She's been through a lot. So much more than you know. Just... just give her time."

Ava

She had thrown herself down on the bed, burying her face in the pillow that smelt so distinctly of him, as soon as he'd left the room with Sam.

And then her Little Bug had appeared.

"I didn't mean to eaves drop," he whispered as he crept towards her, "I swear."

Her voice was muffled when she didn't even attempt to move to look at him. "And yet, here we are, Little Bug."

"Yeah." Peter sounded nervous and unsure of himself as he shuffled beside where she lay, and that caused an uncomfortable burning in her eyes, so she turned onto her side, raised an eyebrow and rolled her eyes.

"You have one minute. All questions, get them out of your system. Go." She tried not to smile, but as a warm grin, stronger than any pain meds she'd ever taken, spread across his cheeks, she gave in.

"Did you kiss? Or did Sam interrupt? Or were you just finished kissing? Or still kissing? If you did kiss, are you gonna do it again? I just need to know. Please?" He dropped down beside her and rolled to face her.

Ava groaned. "I take it back. No questions."

"Ava," he whined, pulling at the pillow half concealing her face.

"We didn't kiss, kid." A small pinch in her chest travelled up her throat and Ava hoped Peter didn't hear it in her voice. "I was just feeling vulnerable and Buck was making sure I was okay. He was just... he understood. That's all."

Peter was staring at her with wide eyes and an expression that was nothing but pure shock.

"What?" She fidgeted where she lay.

"You just called him Buck. Not Buckaroo, not Metal Man. Buck." He wasn't even smiling. Just staring.

"I - whatever. I've called him Buck before."

"When?"

Ava chewed her lip in silence.

"When, Ava?" Peter pressed, amusement dancing over his lips now.

"This morning." She buried her face again and Peter laughed loudly.

"I knew you -"

The trill chime of a ringtone that Ava never wanted to hear ever again drowned out the remainder of Peter's words as panic wrapped it's bony fingers around her throat and tightened.

"I -" She glanced at the phone that Bucky must have thrown down onto the bed after carrying her up to their room. "I'm sorry. I have to take that."

She snatched the device from the mattress before diving off of the end of the bed and running from the room.

There was nowhere she could go right now. Bucky had gone downstairs with Sam. Torres was lurking somewhere and Steve and Talia were downstairs, no doubt happy in their family bubble. Silently, she slipped towards the bathroom and sighed with relief when she could lock the door behind her and answer the call.

"We're done, Sharon. Stop calling me." Her voice shook and her knees trembled too. A cold sweat broke against the back of her neck and her heart pounded with every second of silence that hung between them.

And then she heard that laugh. The same one that had echoed from windowless walls the first time she'd tried to step away. The one that reminded her she had no control. No choice.

"That's cute." Sharon's voice was colder than ice and Ava closed her eyes. "But, we both know it doesn't work that way, Hall. You want out? Then I have one last job for you."

"No," Ava whispered. Anything louder would have given away her fear and she would not let Sharon know how much she feared her.

"Yes, my little soldier." The sardonic sneer on Sharon's face was loud through the line. "Now you're going to do one last thing for me, and then maybe I'll consider letting you go. Maybe."

"Why are you doing this?"

The silence was deafening.

"Because I can," Sharon responded. "And because I know you know you owe me your life. So, what will it be, Ava Hall. Your life or one last job?"

"What do I have to do?" Ava slid down the door and curled into herself as she hugged her knees and screwed her eyes shut.

She imagined the peace of disappearing. Of ceasing to exist once more. Of having never returned. And then she pictured icy blue eyes that melted into warm Grecian oceans with something as simple as a smile. She imagined tight frowns and rolled eyes and huffed annoyances that gave way to gentle brushes of fingertips and softly whispered words of comfort. And she knew she didn't long to disappear. She longed for something much, much scarier.

And then Sharon spoke and the phone fell from Ava's hands. She felt the breath leave her lungs and the pain of the task ahead of her spear through what had been left of her broken and bruised heart. What had been left of the soul of the girl she had once been.

And she cried.