[1] hostility ▷ bucky barnes [✔]

[25] ▷ epilogue

BUCKY stared emotionlessly at the wall ahead of him, the shock still evident to everyone. It had been about eleven days since the small memorial for Artemis ended and they buried her in a black marble casket, condemning her 6 feet under the cold, dirty ground, — away forever.

A tear shed unwillingly from Bucky's eye and he quickly wiped it away with the back of his flesh hand with a small sniffle. She would have laughed at him right now, he thought. He couldn't be this way. She wanted him to be strong. Bucky had no appetite, nor did he have any desire to talk to anyone. If they asked if he was okay, he would shrug. If they asked if he were hungry, he'd shake his head and turn away from the food that was offered his way.

It was only a matter of time before Steve stepped in.

"Bucky," Steve greeted softly as he entered the room, seeing his best friend sitting in the same place on his bed that he had been sitting the last two times he tried to come and talk to him. Steve walked forward with the plate that consisted of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and Bucky looked back at him with red puffy eyes, his lips turning up in disgust at the sight of food.

"You have to eat." Steve said, now holding the plate directly in Bucky's face. Bucky's lip slightly quivered as his shaky hand reached for the sandwich, and Steve smiled lightly in triumph. Bucky took a shaky bite, and before Steve could realize it, the sandwich was gone. "Thank you," Bucky said, and Steve nodded. It was quiet for a moment as Steve searched for the words to say.

I'm sorry for your loss, Buck would be an understatement, Steve figured. So he just decided that he'd sit down on the bed beside his distressed friend and give him a pat on the back. "Is there anything I can do?" Steve asked, and Bucky never looked away from his focused spot on the wall. "No." He answered shortly, and Steve pursed his lips.

"I could've done something." Bucky finally said after a short pause, his voice cracking. Steve's face contorted into sheer sympathy as he looked at his friend, remembering every single happening of the horrid moment. "None of us could have." Steve defended. "Steve, you don't understand—" "—I might." Steve cut in softly, causing Bucky to rest his head in his hands.

It pained Steve to see Bucky this way. For as long as he's known him, Steve has never seen Bucky cry as openly and so pitifully as he did now, and it brought tears of his own to his eyes. "Steve," Bucky sobbed, shaking his head with nothing with regret. "I never told her I loved her too. I never told her—" "—She knew you loved her, Bucky." "But she never heard me say it." "She didn't have to." Steve said.

Steve then spent the next hour comforting Bucky until he said it was time for his visit. Steve nodded in understanding, letting Bucky slip on his jacket and head towards the graveyard.

Bucky held the daily red rose in his hand as he walked down the street, his fingers playing with the occasional thorn that he had found on all of the roses he laid on her grave.

She did have her thorns, she had many of them. But those thorns were her perks, her link to the man that Bucky had become. A rose was a reminder that Artemis Schmidt lived at one point, and she was his.

Not Hydra's, not InSANE's, not S.H.I.E.L.D's. His.

He sniffled lightly as he stood at the metal gate of the small cemetery in Brooklyn, New York. Bucky wanted her to be buried there so that she'd be with where his heart was and will forever be, so maybe one day again they could rest in peace together, forever.

He opened the gate and began his usual trek down the cemetery drive, his feet lagging like they usually did. Although something gave him a weird feeling this day, it felt as if the air was thinner, the wind wasn't blowing, and the birds weren't chirping. It was so dismal, so dark, it nearly made Bucky shiver.

As the rocks under his boots crunched towards the patched grass that Artemis was buried under, Bucky stopped abruptly in his tracks. His lips parted as the red rose in his hand slowly began to bleed into a black, burning color, and he stared at where the seeming love of his life was once buried.

He dropped the now black rose at his feet in disbelief, walking towards the dug up deathbed at a fast pace. He knelt down to see all ten of the roses painted beautifully with the same black that his rose was, and as he looked closer, the surrounding of her grave's grass was turning grey, the sign of death. The last thing Bucky noticed on the scene was the gravestone.

Where it once said,

"Here lies Artemis Schmidt

Beloved friend, and family member

November 4, 1987-September 23, 2016,"

Was scratched out with what seemed to be fingernails, as it now said the breathtaking, yet chilling, message that made Bucky jump to his feet, fleeing the scene to go tell the others before it was too late. The message was carved over what was scratched out, and the handwriting, Bucky knew, had to be her's.

"I'M NOT DEAD."

THE END... lol not really

921 words
_

So, I decided that I was on a roll for feels today, that I would go ahead and end this book.

BUT DO NOT WORRY, THERE WILL BE A SEQUEL! Only if you guys want one, lmao.

But I will host a Q&A if any of you would wanna know the depth stuff about Artemis and shiz, and most likely after that I will post up the beginning of the sequel. I'm not sure as to what I should name the next one. I'm debating on 'guns and roses' or 'censure.' Give me your thoughts, I'd love to hear them!

I appreciate all of the kind comments, the amazing people that I've met through doing this book and I hope all of you enjoyed it. I will be going back to edit it all and give the chapters as much detail as I possibly can since some people get confused on the chapters and I apologize for that, lmao. Usually when I write I just ramble and forget to go back and read what I wrote which is such a bad habit of mine.

I would love any feedback on what you thought of this book, and how it ended or any reviews! I hate to say it, but I love the attention XD

I SERIOUSLY LOVE ALL OF YOU GUYS SO MUCH INSANE, YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW THANKFUL I AM FOR EACH AND EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU!

MUCH LUV TO YOU ALL,
~KatXoXo