A Walk In The Park

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A sweet, aromatic smell filled the air in the apartment, creating an even more refreshing awakening. It was a mix of sweet and salty, one of the best combinations in the world and Bucky hadn’t smelled it in a long, long time. He sprawled on the couch, his arms and legs stretching far over the couch’s ends. The curtains were still drawn yet there was still a slight opening where the morning sun managed to peak through. He swung his legs over, yawning and rubbing his eyes.

“Good morning.”

Bucky turned his head around and saw Steve standing over the stove with a simple, tired grin.

“Morning,” Another yawn escaped Bucky’s mouth, causing him to stretch again.

“How’d you sleep?” Steve stirred whatever was in the pan, making it pop and sizzle.

Bucky didn’t travel very far between the couch and table. He pulled out a wooden chair and sat down at the table. Pairs of plates, glasses and forks were laid out with napkins.

“The best sleep I’ve had in 70 years. It’s nice to have a non-interrupted, complete nights rest for a change.”  Bucky rested his elbow on the table, his head leaning in his hand.

“Well I hope this adds to it.” Steve walked over with two plates. One was stacked high with thick, fluffy pancakes. The other layered with bacon. He set the two plates down and back tracked to the kitchen. Opening the fridge, Steve leaned in to grab a half gallon of orange juice. He came back, this time joining Bucky at the table.

But Bucky just stared. This was all familiar to him, but only slightly. He had vague memories of this moment only the roles were swapped. Bucky would be making breakfast while Steve was would have been the one dazedly leaning over the table. It was Bucky who use to take care of Steve, much like Steve was doing now. To Bucky it was so familiar and somehow it was still so distant, the memory.

“Are you not hungry, Buck?” Steve asked, pouring himself and Bucky a glass of juice.

“Yes. No. I mean, I don’t know.” Tired and slightly in pain, Bucky held his head.

Steve gazed across the table, a concerned look upon his face. At this point he had let Bucky work his way through the memory. But if Bucky ever needed Steve, he promised himself he’d be there even if Bucky never asked.

“You know, I know just the thing to help clear your head.”

~ ~ ~

Beautiful. Simply beautiful.

The beauty of this park in Brooklyn caused almost every bad feeling, painful memory and bit of stress inside Bucky to vanish. The glorious fall colors, the oranges, the yellows, the reds made him relax and not feel so tense. With the cloudy sky and slight breeze rushing past him, it felt like nothing Bucky had ever felt before. To see such a calm place, it seemed like a memory he’d never want to forget.

“It’s amazing here.” Bucky gawked, placing his hands in the pockets of his jacket.

“Yeah. It is. After what happened in New York I found out this park is a great place to relax, get all your tension out. And I figured you needed that.” Steve glanced up at the sky and back down to meet Bucky’s thankful eyes.

Taking a moment, Bucky closed his eyes. He could feel the breeze; he could hear it rustling through the leaves. Bucky could for once acknowledge his other senses that he use to use so little. He could smell the fall weather, the dying leaves, the drying grass and brisk air.

“I take it you like it here?” Steve chuckled, both of them sitting on a bench nearby.

“I love it.” Slowly, Bucky’s eyes opened dazed with serenity.

“Hey, Buck,” Steve leaned forward, tangling his fingers together. He had to bring it up, he had to apologize. “I just wanted to say I’m sorry. I’m sorry that I couldn’t reach further. When you fell off the train everything inside me broke. It killed me to hear you scream, to be so helpless. And now that I have the chance to say it, I’m just hoping that you can forgive me for it.”

It took Bucky a second to remember that moment. He and Steve were on Hydra’s train attempting to infiltrate it back in the 1940’s. The side of the train got blown out when the shot ricocheted from Steve’s shield, which Bucky was holding, and to the wall causing it to blow open. Bucky had gotten hit again and with the speed of the train and force of the shot, Bucky was launched out, latching onto the only thing he could. Steve had tried to reach. But all hope began to fade the instant the bar started to let loose.

“Steve, don’t feel bad, please. There’s nothing you could have done.” As Bucky looked over to Steve, he saw that his eyes began to tear up.

“That’s the thing, Bucky. In the time it took for me to struggle and reach you, I could have grabbed a rope or pole or something. But instead I took the stupid way, I took the slow way.”

“You didn’t do anything wrong. If that event wouldn’t have happened, we wouldn’t be here. I wouldn’t be here. It was simply fate that I fell. It was fate that Hydra found me and wiped my brain. The same way it was fate that you helped me remember. Please don’t beat yourself up about this, okay Shrimp?”

Steve gazed over to Bucky reassuringly. He nodded, knowing that he really was forgiven no matter the situation. Steve leaned back against the bench and proceeded to enjoy the fall beauty. As he looked the other way, Steve noticed two people who looked very familiar.

“Uh-oh,” Steve grumbled, glancing to the left.

“What’s wrong?”

“Do you remember Agent Romanoff and the Falcon?” Steve began to grow anxious the closer they got. Thankfully they hadn’t seen Steve and Bucky.

“Vaguely. Why?”

“They’re walking our way…”

“And I’m guessing they don’t know about me, huh?”

“Yeah.”

Bucky rose to his feet. “Don’t worry. Just go and talk to them and I’ll handle myself.”

Steve nodded nervously. They were getting closer. Shoving his lightly numbed fingers into his pockets, Bucky walked off behind him while Steve sat on the park bench casually, just waiting till Sam and Natasha came.

“Hey, Cap!”

Acting like nothing happened and Bucky was never there, Steve acted surprised to see them as soon as they were in front of him.

“Hi,” Steve fake grinned.

“What you doin’ here, man? Why aren’t you running anymore?” Sam crossed his arms.

“I’ve been busy.”

“Oh yeah. Sam told me about this girl who moved into the building.” Natasha gestured with her head over to Sam. “What’s she like?”

“Oh, well, she’s nice, pretty. Her name’s Rebekah.”

“And?”

“And I went on a date with her.” Steve shrugged, not really seeing the big deal.

“Why didn’t you tell me? You know I’ve been trying to help you find someone.” Tasha crossed her arms with a slight scowling look on her face.

“Believe it or not, Nat, I do know how to find a girl on my own.”  Steve grinned.  “And to be honest, I really it.”

A/N

Well, I know it's not the weekend but there is a stong possibility that I can't post this weekend so I am now. =D

I know at this point there isn't much Stucky going on but trust me, i'm building up to it. PROMISE!!

Dedication goes to CaptainChris1!!! XD

Don't Forget Me ~Stucky/ Cap. America~Where stories live. Discover now