I'll Protect You, I Promise

The Storm

The glass case closed around him, signifying the end, at least for the time being. He shut his eyes and took one last breath, this was for the best, that was what he told himself. Bucky let himself drift into darkness. It wouldn't hurt and at this point, nothing could.

A dark mist swirl around him, blinding him from the world around him. He called out, but no one was there to answer him. He quickly found that nothing could dissolve the mist and he became a sobbing mess on the ground. His body shook with anguish as he curled into a ball.

He squeezed his eyes shut, hoping beyond hope that it was all a dream and maybe when he woke up everything would be okay. Except that he knew, somewhere deep down, that it would never be okay. It couldn't, he would be surrounded by this darkness for the rest of eternity, it wasn't something he could help, but it was something that would come to be.

He took a deep breath trying to slow his ragged breathing. That's all he focused on, take a breath, hold, let it out, take a breath, hold, let it out, he did so over and over and over until he could he himself think. And then the most peculiar thing happened...

He opened his eyes to a cloudy grey sky above him. Perplexed he rubbed his eyes trying to see if it was an illusion. The cloudy sky was still there.

He sat up, to take in his surroundings. He was lying next to a metal patio set, with 4 chairs and a table. To his left was some open space, the door leading down to the apartment building, and a garden, with 4 mediocre size beds. In the garden, there was an array of plants, from tomatoes to cucumber, herbs including, sage, rosemary, thyme, mint, and basil.

It was the perfect garden, something that Bucky had been meaning to create, but he never had the time. Despite himself, he smiles, it was the little world that he had always wanted.

"Is this Heaven?" He asked no one, though he knew it wasn't. This was a little world he had created. But that was fine, he could survive a fake reality for however long he wanted, after all, it was what he wanted most.

A honey-like voice behind him spoke up, "It could be,"

Bucky turned around and dawned a huge smile. "Stevie," He whispered in awe, "It's good to see you. Are you okay?'

Steve returned his warm smile and nodded. Bucky's memory was quickly erased of all bad feeling of no hope as he embraced the man. He had his love and everything was going to be just fine.

The grey clouds knew better though. It showered them with light kisses, ones that only stained their shirts ever so gently. The cement floor was dusted with raindrops, which soon had it completely covered.

Steve grinned and held his hand out to the brunet, "May I have this dance?"

Bucky giggled, "Of course you can."

The two-man danced like nothing else mattered, even the increasingly heavy rain didn't stop them. The rain soon became so thick that to see 3 feet in front of you became a difficult task. They were soaked head to toe, their shirts clinging to their skin.

Bucky held Steve close to him, as they swayed. "I love you," Bucky whispered, kissing the top of Steve's head. "I don't think that I'll stop loving you. I really hope you know that."

Steve smiled contently, "I know," he paused, "but I hope that you will get to keep telling me."

Bucky chuckled, "I'll tell you until you're sick of me. I'll tell you every day and every night until you start hearing me in your sleep."

"Sure, Buck." Steve sighed and gestured around the two, "Isn't this beautiful? The rain, the city, you?"

"Maybe," he replied quietly, "Or it could just be our imagination."

"If it is, would you love me any less?"

"No, but if it's my imagination then my definition of beauty is in need of some help."

"It's fine the way it is."

"Maybe."

The two were quiet for a moment, then Steve said quietly, "I love you too."

Sorry, this is so short. I can't write fluff, but I tried. Anyway, this was a promise to a friend, this chapter. I'm sorry.