Modern Royalty

Of pleasant and unpleasant surprises

Chapter 5
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"James. Remove yourself", Alexander grumbles but Bucky stays put. "James, I won't repeat myself", his father threatens and the Rogers' men look over worriedly. "Bucky, please. It's alright", Steve says calmly and walks over to the brunet. He finally takes a step back, but Steve is too late to stop the blow Alexander grants his son. Bucky gasps and starts coughing, and closes his eyes. If he had just a little less balance, he'd probably be on the floor now. "Alexander!", Winifred shouts, paired with the clattering of a tray on the floor and cups breaking. "How dare you hurt him", she yells and hurries over to Bucky.

She lays her arms around him carefully as he flinches at her touch. "I'm here... It's okay. Can you hear me, Bucky? I'm here. You're not there, okay? Shh", she whispers and doesn't even think twice to sit down on the floor as Bucky sinks down. The others watch the scene unfold in front of their eyes. Sarah is still processing what she just saw, she can't believe how someone could even think about doing that to their child.

No matter why. No matter how old they are or how much authority they have. Meanwhile, Steve is torn between kneeling down and comforting Bucky, and staying in his place to not disturb his friend's mother. This obviously happened before, she knows exactly what to do and what to say. And soon, Bucky stops trembling. Joseph, however, looks on in utter disbelief. Alexander wasn't joking.

'Sometimes discipline needs extreme measures, and I'm willing to take them to get respect', the words echoe in his mind. The other king is greatly puzzled, but more than satisfied by his reaction. James misbehaved, it's justified. He watches his wife cradling his son like a child, and frankly, he despises it. "Stop it. He's not seven anymore", Alexander says coldly. He leaves the room after being ignored by everyone, locking himself in his office.

Just now Steve realizes that Bucky is actually sobbing, clinging onto his mother's jacket. The cries might be silent, hitched, but he hears them. And he can see clearly, that this time Bucky's cheek isn't only gushing red, but his nose is dripping with blood. Sarah gets back out of her thoughts first and takes both men of her family by their wrists, pulling them out of the room. It's a vulnerable moment, that nobody should interrupt or see.

Just seconds later Rebecca rushes past them and into the room with a small towel, a bottle of water and a first aid kit. "That...definitely happened a few times before", Steve whispers, still worried. "And yet, we can't exactly change it. I just feel sorry, for all that he's apparently gone through. The war, the crash, coming back to this monstrous human of a father", Sarah replies silently and leads them upstairs.

Bucky feels the blood tracing his face, some dripping down his chin, some into his mouth. He's crying, sobbing heartbreakingly. The flashback that the punch triggered was worse than the pain itself. Worse than the anger he felt. "Bucky... Bucky, you're here. We're here for you. You are not back there. Are you listening?", Rebecca murmurs, close to his ear while stroking over his back carefully. He nods slowly, taking a stuttering breath. "Yes... I know", he whimpers and moves out of his mother's embrace carefully. "I ruined...your jacket", he mumbles, looking at the bloodstain, but Winifred just shakes her head.

"No, no. I'll just wash it out, it's nothing", she answers and kisses his forehead. "Can we aid it?" Bucky nods again and closes his eyes in pain as they start cleaning his face from the blood to get a better look at the injury. "It's not broken", Rebecca says silently and strokes over Bucky's hair. "Open up", she mumbles and gives her brother some painkillers. They aid the injury, putting a cooling creme on it as well, and wait until he opens his eyes again. "Thank you", Bucky mumbles. "It took me back...to that place... That lab." "Don't. Don't think about it again. Give yourself some time to ease. Then write down what you saw, like you always do. Calm yourself", his mother says softly and helps him up. "Yeah, okay... Good idea", Bucky says and blinks the dizziness away.