AUGUST || Bucky Barnes x OC

53

Valerie got to her feet, her heels dangling in one hand as she made her way towards Bucky's cabin. She could see a small light in the window and the front door was held wide open by a stopper.

She stepped in carefully, looking around the dark house. There was music playing from the vinyl. It was low, almost like a slight whisper. There was a breeze cutting through the house.

"Bucky?" She called out.

"Here" He called back.

She stepped further in, finding him at the back patio, drink in hand, part of his shirt unbuttoned.

"Hey...I thought you might be asleep" She whispered as she carefully slid down in the chair next to him. He didn't respond.

"I can't believe Bruce got married today" He shook his head, laughing slightly and taking another sip.

"yeah...crazy" Valerie kept his gaze on him. He hadn't turned to look at her once.

"So, I guess you'll be heading back home soon?" He turned to look at her, his gaze holding so much emptiness.

She was taken aback by the bluntness, by the lack of trying to even talk about it.

"Don't you think we have some stuff to talk about?" She raised her eyebrows.

Bucky got to his feet, and walked back into the house. Valerie followed him, annoyed and angry.

"If you don't mind, I've had a long day." He refilled his drink.

"Actually, I do mind" She crossed her arms, her tone was no longer soft and careful.

Bucky put his glass down and pinched the bridge of his nose. He took a deep breath, letting the palms of his hands rest against the cool marble counter in the kitchen.

"Go ahead" He gestured towards her.

"I want to make clear that I didn't ask to be transferred to London. The person my boss had in mind became unavailable, and so she decided that I would be the next best choice, okay?" She started.

"That's great, Vee. I'm happy for you" He kept his gaze down.

"What do you mean?" She stuttered.

"I mean, that's great. It sounds like a great opportunity." He repeated.

"That's it? That's great?" she hissed.

"Vee...what the fuck do you want me to say?" Bucky held out his hands, finally lifting his gaze to meet hers.

"I want you to tell me that you don't want me to go," She yelled.

"Of course I don't want you to go! I never wanted you to go, Vee! You already know  that." He yelled back. "But I'm not gonna let myself fall into this fucking mess again. I told myself at the beginning of the summer, I'm not expecting anything this time. These past couple of months have been amazing. But...you're gonna do what you think is right. It's what you've always done." he shrugged.

"I never knew what was right! Assuming I would make the right choice at 18 was so unfair! Nothing ever felt right again after I left you." She cried.

"Okay, so here we are, again. We get a second chance, we get a do-over. What's the plan, Vee? Are you gonna run for the hills again, because you're scared? I'm fucking scared too. But I'm here. I'm right where you left me, still waiting for you to make up your mind. It's fucking pathetic!" He yelled, slamming his drink down on the marble.

Valerie took a seat on one of the hand carved wooden chairs. She closed her eyes, trying to calm down. Her fingers ran across the hand carved wood. No two of them the same. A strange thought of how this would look in her apartment pressed its way into her mind.

"Why is this so hard?" She whispered. "Why can't we just be together, without this...this-" She tried to think of the words to explain the ripping feelings inside of her.

"Because it is hard, Vee! But you know what? There isn't a single person on this earth besides you, who I would wanna tough it out with. Because you make it bearable. You make it worth it to me." His voice was filled with desperate frustration.

Valerie looked up at him, tears staining her cheeks.

Bucky walked over to her, reaching his hands out. "Come here" He said calmly but sternly.

"Bucky-" She tried.

"Come here, I said" He interrupted her.

She stood up and let him wrap her up in his arms, pressing her against his chest. The warmth of his body radiated onto hers. His tight grip felt grounding, like safety, like comfort, like certainty.

"I'm tired, Bucky. I'm tired of feeling so...so far away from you." she whispered, desperately running her hands over his chest.

He nodded softly, like he knew exactly what she meant. Like he had felt that same tiring sensation as well.

"You know, somewhere this works. Somewhere in the multiverse, in another reality, timeline, or whatever you wanna call it, we aren't so far away from each other. Somewhere out there, its' you and me, sitting across from each other at the kitchen table, and going over the grocery list. Somewhere I'm asking you to run away with me and the answer is finally yes. It's stupid but I used to think like that, after you left. That for every universe where I wasn't with you, there were two more where I was. Maybe it's just not supposed to be this one."

His words hung in the air for a few seconds, she felt like they were stabbing at her.

"It's this one." She whispered, feeling as if an entire building had lifted off her chest.

"Hmm?" Bucky gave her a confused look.

"I told her no." She confessed.

He unwrapped himself from her and held her out at arms length, his eyes wide with what looked like both confusion and fear.

"You told her no." He repeated.

"I told her no...And I quit!" She added, laughter spilling out through the uncertainty in her voice.

"You quit your job?" He raised his eyebrows.

Valerie nodded.

"I keep imagining your furniture in my apartment. I want to sit across the table from you and go over the grocery list. And I want to feel you throw a blanket over me when I fall asleep on the couch. I want to know that if I reach out for you in the morning and you're not there, you're only as far away as the next room." She whispered, searching his face.

Bucky pulled her in and pressed a hard kiss against her lips.

"Okay" He whispered as they pulled away, nodding frantically, his hands shaking as he stroked her hair.

"I want to fight you over what we watch before bed" Valerie's voice was shaking, but she had waited to say this for so many years. "I want to take photos of you doing every day shit to the point where you roll your eyes at me. Because I've always loved to annoy you" She made Bucky laugh, and he pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"And I want to say yes if you ask me to run away with you. Yes. Yes. In every universe. The answer is always yes."