Hallowed (B. Barnes)

Chapter Fifty-Six

Note: So I was thinking about the whole Blip thing and then the whole heaven and hell thing, and I was curious if you guys think that when people were blipped, their souls went up or down, or if they didn't, and just became sort of suspended in a kind of limbo. 

....

Bucky stands at his apartment window, staring off into the distance and over the towering buildings of Manhattan. His thumb brushes over the coordinates now written on a Post-it note. that he has practically clutched to since he transferred the data over. It's been a few days since he left Sydney. He and Natasha both returned to SWORD to explain what happened with the Thule and Hitler. Which was a very weird conversation for Bucky to have. He closes his eyes and turns away from the window to look across at Natasha who sits at the counter with a take-out carton of noodles. It's a shared apartment. The Avengers that survived use it when they need to. Though not a lot of them do. Clint is off God-knows where. Tony has his family home with Pepper. Bruce has an island somewhere, Bucky's sure he heard that from someone. Thor is in New Asgard helping with building efforts, allegedly. Bucky and Natasha are the only ones who use the apartment. So it is technically theirs. He doesn't want to be here though. He sighs again and Natasha turns in her chair to look at him. It's the fourth time he's sighed in five minutes. Something is going on with him and she can easily read it all over his face. He's been unsettled and twitchy and withdrawn since they left Sydney.

"You're out now, aren't you?" Natasha teases, Bucky looks at her. "Come on, I'll buy you a drink before you get packing"

"How did you figure it out...?"

"We both knew that as soon as you found her, you weren't going to stick around with SWORD..." She points out. "So go, find some happiness in this...disaster....you've earned this, Barnes"

"What about you?" He asks as he approaches her.

"Urm..I'm going to go back to the Facility...someone has to start taking responsibility for those of us left....guess I was running from it just as much as you were running towards her..."

"I'm not even sure I'm allowed to leave" He admits with a sigh, turning to glance back out the window. Wanting that freedom. But he's been under the thumb of the government now since Romania and he is not sure they are going to let him go.

"Hey, world went to shit...you've done enough" She assures him. "Plus I can make up some bogus mission if you want me to....I can say that you are observing people of interest" She smirks at him. "Which you kind of are..." Bucky snorts a laugh and looks at her. "Go be with her" Natasha offers softly. "Be happy"

"Steve..." Bucky tries but then stops, changing his mind. Talking about Steve is still hard for him. But Natasha understands what he is trying to say anyway.

"We've done everything that we can, right now...until something happens, someone has a big brain idea, then there is nothing more we can do. Steve will understand and he would want you to be happy" Bucky closes his eyes and nods. He knows Steve would. "Come on" She stands from her chair and grabs her jacket from the back of it. "One drink..." Bucky smiles as he turns to her then nods. Natasha has proved to be a far greater friend then he first imagined her to be when he arrived at the Avengers facility. They have history and he thought that it might prove to be tumultuous rather than friendly. But if it wasn't for Natasha, he doesn't know what hole he would have fallen into after the Blip.

......

Sydney likes Jody, even if the woman is cautious around Sydney. Jody is a good figure for Sam and Dean to have around them. A motherly woman. Which is why Jody is always tense when Sydney is around, because she's protecting two teenage girls and the 'vampire' is a threat. It's why Sydney isn't going to stay this time. She's tired and not feeling all that interested in being good company, so she wants to go back to the Bunker and shower and find something really greasy to eat and drink some blood. She hasn't really had a chance to deal with the whole Bucky thing yet. And she needs that time. Sam is standing on Jody's porch, about to knock on the door. Dean glances back at Sydney as she hesitates at the bottom of the porch.

"Syd?" He asks her. She lets out a breath.

"I think I will just go back to the Bunker" She adjusts her jacket a little and turns to Dean. "I'll see you later" Dean follows after her as she walks away. Sam watches the two of them. It has been tense between the three of them since the Thule, Hitler, and Bucky. And it is because of only one of those things.

"Syd" Dean touches her arm to stop her, she sighs a little and turns to face him. "What's going on?" She pulls a face, wrinkling her nose slightly.

"No offence, but I kind of need some me time" She whispers to him. "I've been around you non-stop since Amara let me go..." She reminds him. "And I get it..." She assures him. She knows that he's been worried about her. About what Amara did to her. "But I need to spend a few hours on my own...." Dean nods a little. He doesn't believe that's what it is about, he believes it is about Bucky, and he gets it. She's been quiet in the days since Bucky went back with Natasha. Her mind on the loss of him again. And perhaps being around Dean isn't helping because she stayed with them because of him. And he knows it. Sam was right. And he has come to that realisation in the last few days. He's just not very good at saying sorry. "I'm fine" She adds, touching his arm. She knows that they both worry about her and what happened with Amara, and now Bucky too. But she really does feel fine. Not great, but she's fine with how things currently are. Bucky is alive. She is alive. She has her brothers in her life and she is no longer being controlled by the Darkness. Dean kisses her head and then lets her go. Watching as she makes her way across the yard. She can just run home. That's not a huge deal for her. She takes a breath and raises her hand in a wave. Dean waves back before she vanishes in the blink of an eye.