The Captain

31. He Will (Wanda)

"Hey, Wanda, close your eyes and hold out your hands," Bucky calls as he comes down the palace stairs to the massive patio overlooking a clearing.

I close my eyes and hold out my hands.

He sets a frigid plastic cup of some sort in my hands and a scarf is wrapped around my neck.

"Open your eyes," he says, and I open my eyes to find him, Steve, Tony, and Nat in front of me.

I smile when I see that the cup in my hands is actually a Venti Starbucks Turtle Frappuccino.

"How on earth did you get this?" I ask, smiling bright.

      "You know better than to ask that," Tony tells me, ruffling my hair.

     Bucky slides under Steve's arm as he says, "He flew there and back with it in the quintet freezer. The scarf is something he picked up on the way."

     I grin, "Tony."

     "Yes, Wanda, dear?" He says.

     Clint and Pietro come down the stairs as I say, "You didn't have to do this for me."

     "It wasn't my idea," he smiles, "I just made it happen."

     I look at Pietro, who grins.

     "I can't believe you," I sigh.

     "I've got to take care of my big sister, you know," he beams.

     I smile and take a drink of the carefully blended Frappuccino in my hands, and I can't help the rush of joy surging through my body when I taste chocolate and caramel.

     "All right, boys and girls," Steve says as we walk toward the edge of the patio and step down to the path that leads to the trees. "Time to head to the lake!"

We wander along a path for a good twenty minutes, Pietro running ahead and around Clint every few minutes, and by the time we reach the lake that Steve comes to for a break every few weeks, my drink is completely gone.

"Hey, Bucky, got a few minutes?" I ask as Steve lets go of him.

"Sure," he smiles.

We walk along the water's edge as we talk.

Tony and Clint are on the dock watching the sunset. Steve and Nat are gathering blankets for stargazing in a little bit. Pietro is darting back and forth between the trees collecting branches for a bonfire.

"What's on your mind?" Bucky asks after a few quiet minutes of chitchat.

I sigh and then I say, "A few days ago, when Steve finally told us about the diagnosis and all of that...I kind of pushed him into it. He didn't want to tell everyone at once, and I know he doesn't care that he actually did, but I still feel guilty."

He listens patiently as I go on.

"I mean, ever since I met Steve, he's always pushed me to be the best me possible and to do whatever it takes for me to feel safe, loved, and free," I tell him. "I know he's been through a lot, I've seen it, I've experienced it through him, but I want him to listen to himself for once. His body is working against him and he's unhappy, especially when you're in cryostasis or he's away from you, and I don't want him to hurt the way he has been. He's too important. You both are. You're like big brothers to me."

"He's always been like that," Bucky says softly, "He bottles everything up inside, and it kicks his ass. I knew something was different when we fought Tony in Siberia. Steve was furious, but the way he reacted, it wasn't how he would have in the past. And, God, when he had to put me in cryo, it was like I was dying. He was inconsolable. And when I came out of cryo to help with the mission against HYDRA, I was honestly shocked that his emotions were literally all over the place. One second he was laughing, and the next he was screaming and crying. I didn't know he was going to be officially diagnosed with anything, I thought he knew that he has anxiety, PTSD and depression, but he may have needed that extra push to tell us. A diagnosis can make a world of difference."

"Were you surprised when he said he was diagnosed with bipolar?" I ask him.

He shakes his head, "No, not really."

"Why?" I ask.

"The serum that was given to him, it amplified the traits that he had, and it forged him into what he is today — a supersoldier," he explains, "But the serum, while it helped then, can only do so much now. Everything that's happened since the serum was administered is going to affect him, including trauma. He's sustained severe emotional and physical trauma over the years, not to mention losing me more than once, and its finally taken a toll on him. Mental illness isn't something we ever thought about back in the day, but it's an open discussion now. He's more willing to get the help that he needs once he realizes there's a problem, and now that it's out in the open, he's going to work as hard as he can to make it manageable."

"You think he's going to be able to work through this?" I ask.

He stops to look out across the lake, back toward our friends, and he smiles when he sees Steve with his sketchbook at the end of the dock.

"He will," Bucky says softly, "I know he will."

I smile, "Yeah, I know he will too."