A New Maybe

Twisted Minds

Warnings: None

Breathe.

In. Out. In. Out.

Do it for their sanity.

Do it to help them feel better.

It is the same phrases that have been on repeat in your head for the last week, your attempt to not freak out, to not snap at the lengths both your mom and Bucky have gone and to which you've been subjected. You know they are doing this for your protection, but honestly, how far do they think Seth is going to go?You're pretty sure being chaperoned everywhere you go is a little excessive, the Iphone tracking system, practically being grounded and having to be home and never really allowed to go out with friends. You love your mom and you respect Bucky and everything they are trying to do—keep you safe—but you're suffocating. This Lockdown Mode is threatening to choke you out of yourself and even your ghost is going to have a hard time getting out of the chaos they've put you through.

However, on the bright side, the time you've now had to spend at home has provided you time to spend with your mom and Bucky, this time, for real. After the ice cream shout out in the middle of the street with random strangers walking by, things have been different between you and Bucky, more... understanding. It's still awkward sometimes, weird when you don't know how to react or respond, but he's patient. He waits for you to be ready, he doesn't push like he did before, lets you make the first move, and even though it has been a slow process, you've carved out a little hole in your stone heart and made room for him. It's a small apartment, but he's made a home there and you don't really mind the new decoration... much.

As you walk into the apartment after school, your bag strapped to your back drops to the floor as a voice comes out of nowhere, scaring the living daylights out of you as sirens start screaming.

"Intruder, breach of security in section 4—"

"Holy shit!" you shout above the noise as you slowly crawl back into your skin.

"Hey!" Bucky starts as he walks out of the kitchen pointing a screwdriver at you, "Watch your language."

"Well, sorry, I wasn't exactly expecting to be screamed at when I walked into my home," you sass, then point to the ceiling where the racket is still coming through the newly installed speakers, "Speaking of which, what is going on?"

Bucky pokes your side as he walks past you and to a glass control panel beside the door, punching in a few numbers and the noise finally cuts out, "Here, c'mere."

Taking your place beside Bucky, he takes your arm and positions you in front of the screen, "Spin in place, slowly."

"Oooookay," you drawl and start turning, "Why am I spinning like a top?"

"Friday is scanning you into her systems so hopefully that won't happen again," he says as if it is the most obvious thing in the world, a crease in his brow and you wonder how long he's been working on putting this system in place.

"Friday as in, Tony Stark's version he invented after Jarvis became a living, breathing Frankenstein?"

"Frankenstein was the doctor."

"Yeah, I know, it was just a—never mind. Why do we have Friday? And how did you get the landlord to be okay with this?"

"I can be pretty persuasive. And actually this is just a piece of Friday. Her system is too large to have the complete program, so we only installed the security portion of her," he says and finally stops your spinning, tapping the screen through a few files you can't see, "And this is just a precaution, in case something happens."