I'll Protect You, I Promise

A Long Bus Ride, a Homophobic Woman, and Another Call

"Steve?" Bucky asked quietly.

Steve's eyes fluttered open. He scanned their surroundings, which was a dirty bus loaded with people. He turned to the brunet, eyes filling with tears.

"I saw her."

"Saw who, Steve?" Bucky placed his hand on Steve's cheek. "Peggy?"

Steve nodded, "She was alive, I was with her."

Bucky's face dropped. He sucked in a breath and bit his lip. "Steve," Bucky whispered, "She's dead. It was just a dream. I'm sorry."

"She looked just the way I remembered, she was so beautiful." Steve rung his hands. "I miss her so much, Buck."

"I know you do." Bucky pulled him into a hug. "I know."

Steve's shoulders shook with every shaky breath he took. He couldn't contain it anymore, he let out every tear, every sob, that he had held inside for the past few weeks. It was ugly, but it didn't matter. 

"It's okay." Bucky comforted.

The two of them got odd looks from the other people surrounding them on the bus, but Bucky shot them looks to kill and they went back to minding their own business. Though, one lady, late 30s early - 40s decided, that she was above everyone and decided to speak to them.

She was frailly built and her lipstick was wearing off. She had a baby blue blouse on with a white shirt underneath. Her very expensive looking bag covered her pants so that they weren't noticeable. She held her head up, which must have been what was keeping her loose bun on the top of her head in one place. Nothing else about her stood out, though if you hadn't met her you would have assumed she was on her way to a bake sale or a  soccer game.

"You know," She started, her voice nasally, "What you two are is wrong. Men shouldn't love each other, it's against what the Bible says."

"Thank you for your input, but we really don't care." Bucky spat.

"Well you should, you are going to hell for that sort of thing." She raised her chin up and looked down on them, "Really, you are abominations. And I think I'm speaking for everyone else, you're making us uncomfortable with your affection."

"Look, lady," Bucky said darkly, "I've done things in life that have earned me a spot in hell already. So if you don't mind, fuck off."

The lady glared at him, "You are a horrible man and I do not condone your choice. Now please don't force it on any of us."

Bucky closed his eyes and took a breath. "I wasn't asking for your approval. And you know what, loving a man may be 'my choice', but is it yours to be an asshole?"

The lady gasped, "How dare you."

"After all the wars this country has fought, you'd think that they've learned from other people's mistakes." Bucky huffed. He ignored the women's complaining and went back to comforting Steve.

"Shit," Steve mumbled.

"What?"

"I forgot Peggy's picture," he said horrified.

Bucky clicked his tongue, "No, actually that's what was in the cinnamon roll bag. Why do you think I grabbed it?"

"Nat's doing?"

"Yeah."

"Remind me to thank her."

The two of them remained quiet for the rest of the trip. Bucky rested his head on the headrest, face turned to the window. Steve's head was rested on Bucky's shoulder and he had fallen back asleep. 

Bucky let his mind wander. He had to keep Steve safe, he knew that and that part was written in stone, written in the sky. He just needed to figure out how. They could run for the rest of their lives, and Bucky knew that his the boy beside him was just idiotic enough to follow him. He knew in his heart that it wasn't fair, for Steve to have to run forever. He closed his eyes, blocking it all out. He knew what he had to do, but did he want to have to put Steve through it?

Soon trees became plentiful along the highway. They blocked most of the sunlight and gave the allure of the highway being in its own separate dimension. The warm glow of the setting sun broke through the trees, it looked like amber had been shattered across the heavens.

"Steve?" Bucky shook the blond's shoulders, trying to wake him.

He groaned, his head falling to the side.

Bucky rolled his eyes, "Wake up. We're almost there."

"Almost where?" Steve mumbled.

"Upstate New York. Somewhere, I didn't check where exactly. These were the only tickets."

"Oh God, Buck. Really?"

"Yeah."

Steve rubbed his eyes. "When we get off this bus, you find me a telephone. One that's not trackable. I have to call Natasha."

"There's one in the bus station." 

"Good."

Steve closed his eyes, pretending that everything was fine. He knew this had gone south, it was just a matter of how to fix it. 

Fix what? Running from government agents or his life or the fact that he kept having semi-sweet nightmares about Peggy or that the love of his life was falling apart and he had no way to help. Maybe it was that he had gotten his friends labelled criminals, at this point, everything was just a blur and there wasn't a way for him to fix it.

"All righty ladies and gentlemen, this is our destination: Saratoga Springs. Hope you enjoy your time," The bus driver said cheerfully.

The tired people stood up and reached for their stuff. They filed out of the bus mindlessly, some of them waiting for their baggage that was stored under the bus. Lucky for Steve and Bucky, they kept their baggage with them at all times.

Bucky walked a few feet behind Steve as he stormed to the telephone. He quickly dialled and held the phone to his ear. Bucky sat on a bench that was large enough for several people, but he didn't want to have any more social contact so he stared at everyone until they walked away.

"Steve?" Natasha's voice said from the other end of the line, "Are you and Barnes  okay?"

"Yeah," Steve mumbled, "Thanks for the warning. We're in Saratoga at the moment. We'll probably stay a few hours and then get a car to head back to New York."

"You might want to get that car now. I think they know that you got on that bus, something about an angry lady."

Steve looked down, "Ha, yeah. Sorry."

"Steve," She warned and then she paused and let out a sigh, "You know what, just get the two of you back here in one piece. There's an abandoned warehouse near the wharf, two blocks away. I'm assuming you know where I'm talking about. I'll meet the two of you there tomorrow night or the day after. But just be there, okay. Be safe."

"Okay."

"THat's it? Just okay? No 'thanks Nat.' or 'We'll be safe Nat.'"

"We'll be safe, promise. Now keep yourself out of trouble."

She laughed, "Now why would I do that, Rodgers?"

"Bye."

Steve hung the phone up and walked behind Bucky. He leaned down and planted a kiss on his cheek. "Time to go." He whispered.

"I saw a car out there, easy to hotwire."

"Lead the way."

Bucky grabbed his back that was sitting beside him and sashayed to the door. He paused to turn and look at Steve, "Coming?"

Steve shook his head, a trace of a smile on his lips. He caught up with Bucky and interlaced his fingers with his.

"Where are we going?" Bucky whispered.

"We're going back."

Bucky hung his head. Going back was never a good thing.