The Fall - Book 1

56. She called me 'her Bucky'.

⚠️ TW: mentions of blood/injury/wounds; mentions of medical procedures ⚠️

JULY 30, 2018 — AVENGERS TOWER — BUCKY

"Réa, Stark and Agent Car—"

I put my finger to my lips in a 'shhh' gesture, quieting Doctor Strange, before gesturing to Réa's sleeping form.

"My apologies," Strange whispers. "I just came to let her know that Stark and Agent Carter have arrived, and Stark is anxious to see her."

I nod. "Send him in."

Strange nods and then leaves the room. A few minutes later, there's a soft knock on the door, and Tony pokes his head into the room before entering.

"Bucky."

"Tony."

"How's Réa?" Tony's eyes land on her, curled against my chest.

"As you can see, she's sleeping. I actually wanted to talk to you. You should sit down."

I gesture to the chair beside the hospital bed. Once Tony's seated, I take a deep breath and decide to just rip the Band-Aid off.

"She took the Fall."

All of the blood drains from Tony's face; he slumps in the chair.

"She...she what?" he asks, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Aside from Nat, Hulk, Sharon, Thor, and Loki, everyone was...was dead. Well, I wasn't, but I was barely hanging on. Réa healed me, and..." I pause, letting Tony process my words.

"And she asked me, Thor, Loki, Nat, Hulk, and Sharon to go stand over by the trees...then she made this golden orb around herself and all of you. After about two minutes—which felt like an eternity to me—the orb was gone, and she was unconscious on the ground. I went over to her; I was by her side for just a few moments before she woke up. I helped her sit up; all of you started coming to not long after that.

"Her being unconscious made me a little uneasy, but I remembered when she talked about the first time she and I connected, how feeling my pain made her pass out, so at first I thought that's what had happened. It wasn't until I lifted her to carry her onto the jet and she hissed in pain that I became suspicious that it was more than that." I pause. "Then, she winced while changing."

Seeing the look he gives me at that comment, I hurry to clarify.

"I was behind the curtain; I didn't see, but I heard her. Anyway.... She hissed in pain again when Strange had her lean forward to listen to her lungs, just from the touch of the hospital gown against her back. That's when I knew there was more to it; seeing the wounds just solidified that knowledge."

Tony is silent for several minutes. "W-wounds?"

I swallow audibly. "Strange said 'subcutaneous level wounds' when he called for supplies. Her," I clear my throat, "her wings are gone."

Tony blanches. "Oh my god."

"Yeah. It took Strange a good amount of time to suture each one. I was too worried about Réa to ask how many stitches it took."

Tony remains silent for several minutes. Eventually, he speaks.

"How do you know her wings are gone? I know she mentioned them in Wakanda, but how d—"

"Well, I'd have assumed, based on what she told us, plus where the wounds are, and the fact that there are two of them. But I know because," I clear my throat, "because she showed me."