Modern Royalty

Stay

Chapter 21
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Steve drives back to the mansion and packs a small bag for Bucky and himself, putting Bucky's notebooks on top. He grabs some snacks on his way outside and tells the security about their whereabouts before he leaves again. Meanwhile, Bucky paced around the room multiple times, inspecting anything and everything, before finally settling down on the bed defeatedly. He sits on the bed crosslegged and switches through the channels on the TV. He's tapping his fingers on his knee impatiently.

Doctor Murray walks in and pulls a chair up to the bed, sitting down. "So, why did you fall outta a tree?", he asks calmly and waits until Bucky hesitantly turned the TV off. "I needed to be alone", James says finally and takes off his gloves. "Why?", the doctor asks carefully, he knows better than to force Bucky to answer. "I got upset about something dumb, walked around and decided that the oak in the park was a good hiding spot", the brunet replies silently.

"Did you have a fight with Steve?", Murray asks further and sits up straighter. "No, no. Not a fight. But there are certain topics we don't agree on, and I didn't want it to end in an argument, so I left", Bucky says and smooths his hair back nervously. "Did you tell my family about this?" "No, James, I didn't. I figured, you'd want to do that yourself... It's about your family, right? That you don't want to have an argument", Doctor Murray answers and tilts his head, his glasses sliding down a little.

"...Yes. I hate it. It's just unnecessary", Bucky says after a minute of silence and sighs. He keeps staring at his hands, tapping his fingers together or linking his hands, cracking his knuckles distractedly while speaking. "I know, I know. But you need to talk about it, whatever topic it is. Maybe ask Rebecca or someone else for help, if you're not sure about how to do it", the doctor suggests and stands up to open the window. "So, you fell while climbing into the tree?"

"No. I perched up on a branch, wrote some stuff down, that I suddenly remembered. I was listening to music when Steve found me. He yelled for me, I flinched and fell out of the tree", Bucky explains and chuckles lightly at how stupid that sounds. "My head still hurts." "I could've bet, that you remembered something. That's why I wanted you to stay here tonight. I know, that you don't like it, but it's safer", Murray says.

Bucky nods understandingly and sighs. "You're probably right. I'm not going to tell my family about this, though. My father would go mad and immediately send someone to pick me up. I don't want to go back before I unavoidably have to", Hydra's prince says and stands up. He walks over to the window and leans onto the windowsill, metal quietly clicking against the stone. "That's your decision, James", the doctor says.

"They should know, that you're old enough to know the weight of your decisions. I mean, you're 26", he adds. "But they don't. They still think of me as too young to know, what's best for me and others around me. Just because I break down sometimes", Bucky says and sighs. "Just because of him." "Alexander?", Murray asks and Bucky just nods. Steve walks in on them and tilts his head. "You okay?", the blond asks. "Yes, don't worry", James says and forces a smile.

Steve sets the bags down, walks over to him and pulls him into a hug. "I'll get you something to drink", Lehigh's prince mumbles and kisses Bucky's cheek. "Okay, thanks", the brunet answers and waits until the door closes behind Steve. "Yes, because of my father. You know, what he did. He still does it and I can't do anything about it", Bucky says and walks back to the bed, "Maybe next year." "Yeah, maybe. I'll leave you and Steve alone now", Murray says and leaves.

Bucky lies down on the hospital bed and stares at the ceiling. 'Maybe I should tell Mom about this... But she'd probably tell Dad, I can't risk that', he thinks and sighs deeply. "Why is everything so complicated?", he mumbles and pushes a pillow over his face. "Is my scar that hideous?", Steve asks smiling, when he walks back in. "No, your scar is great. Makes you look like a bad-boy", Bucky answers, muffled by the pillow. The blond smiles and sits down on the bed.