Hallowed (B. Barnes)

Chapter Twenty-Five

Spring is in the air. And it adds a sort of magic to Bucharest. Even for Bucky. So he plans. Bucky shakes out the blanket and then lays it down on the roof, things have been good for the two of them the last almost year. And he knows he doesn't have to but he wanted to do something nice. Something special. It's closing in on a year since they met. And he wants to make every moment up to it. He wants her to know how important she is to him. How much better his life is because she is in it. And he knows, he really knows that his life is a hell of a lot better now than it was before. He flicks the lighter and holds the wick of the candle to the flame. He's hoping for a wind free night or the whole concept of candles is going to be such a pain in his ass after he worked so hard to get this right. He tries his hardest to be romantic. He tries to do little things every day. If he's at the market and he sees something he thinks Sydney will like he buys it, whether it's something simple like a bag of apples and lemons, or flowers, or a pin badge. He'll run her a bath before she wakes up. He'll wrap a blanket around her on the couch when she's cold and sleepy. Little things that he hopes she can read as his way of telling her he loves her. He sets the candle down on an upturned crate, among a few others that have already been lit. He flicks on the fairy lights that are strung up around the blanketed area. He nods to himself. Perfect.

..............

"Come on" Bucky teases as he pulls Sydney through the door and onto the roof. She chuckles at the sheer excitement and pride on his face. And when she sees why, she can't help but feel proud of him herself. Her eyes take in the set up space on the roof. The lights. The comfort. The romance.

"Oh" she breathes softly as he wraps his arms around her waist and presses his chest against her back. "James" she whispers warmly, he kisses her neck and smiles. "What is this for?"

"It's a year since the first time I saw you" he admits as he plays with the buttons on her jacket. "And I wanted to do something nice.....mark the day I started stalking you" she laughs and shakes her head, she turns slightly and grabs onto his shirt to hold him close.

"Okay, so stalking is not the best way to describe what happened" she counters. "And in the future, we'll not use that..." he chuckles and leans closer to kiss her softly.

"So what are we going to use?" He asks her.

"Hmmm maybe you took the last free chair at the cafe, right across from me....our eyes met..." she teases. "You know....like one of those chic flicks?"

"So romantic" he teases dipping his hands into the pockets of her jeans to touch her ass. She gives him a look but leans closer to him. He kisses her and then pulls back so he can show her what he has done for her. She touches his cheek as she bypasses him to have a really good look.

"I can't believe you did this" she admits with a smile.

"Yeah, well...." he shrugs a little. She moves to where there is a beautiful bouquet of flowers.

"Alina?" she asks touching the flowers, he nods. "They're beautiful" she whispers softly as he pops the cork on the champagne bottle behind her. She can't believe that he has done all this for her. The sky above them darkens, really darkens. Enough that it causes the two of them to look up at it. Lights begin to fall from the sky. Across the entire sky. Bright and fast.

"Wow" he states. "Look at that meteor shower" Sydney shakes her head.

"That's no meteor shower" she comments as she stares up at the sky. Bucky looks at her and then back at the sky. It's beautiful though. Whatever it is.

.........

Later, Bucky wakes to an empty bed, his fingers trailing over cold blankets. No sign of Sydney. He turns his head and sees her shadow moving in the living room. He slips out of bed and pulls on his sweat pants before heading that way. He pauses in the doorway to watch her. She's sat on the couch, a cell phone pressed to her ear.

"Bobby, it's Syd...." She sighs. "Again. I don't know if you are getting these, or...just deleting them. I know it's been a few years and I know I said some things....Just something happened, and I think it's a...you know...thing, 'cause that definitely wasn't...normal. Call me back...or not....just..." she sighs and then hangs up with a shake of her head. She sighs and rests her cell phone on her knee. She doesn't know what she was expecting, calling Bobby. Bucky leans up from the door and enters the room now. He takes the seat beside her and she instantly, subconsciously leans closer to him.

"Who's Bobby?" he asks her, she sighs and looks at him.

"Someone I used to know....he's good with weird stuff, and I just thought that if he could tell me it was nothing, I could..." she shrugs and leans into his side. "I didn't really expect him to pick up, we haven't spoken in years" she takes a deep breath. Bucky wraps his arm around her and kisses her head.

..............

In America, a phone sits in a hand as it plays Sydney's voice mail. Finger clenched around the device.

"Bobby, it's Syd....Again. I don't know if you are getting these, or...just deleting them. I know it's been a few years and I know I said some things....Just something happened, and I think it's a...you know...thing, 'cause that definitely wasn't...normal. Call me back...or not....just..." The message ends. Only it's not Bobby who sits on a hospital bench holding the phone in his hand. It's Dean Winchester. He stares down at the phone and then presses a key.

"Message deleted" The automated voice informs him, he takes a deep breath and tucks the phone back away where it was hidden in his duffel bag. He pulls the zip closed on the bag and then stares at it a moment, then shakes his head as he stands. He wasn't the only one hurt when Sydney left them. Sneaking out in the middle of the night without so much as a goodbye, not even to her own twin brother, her so called best friend. He's been stewing on his disappointment and anger towards her actions for a very long time. It's not like he doesn't know what she's talking about, he assumes she'd witnessed the angels falling and is seeking answers. But he's not going to give them to her. He's not picking up the phone and calling her. It might be spiteful and stubborn but he doesn't care. Where the hell was she when they needed her? He walks into the hospital room next to his chair and looks at Sam who lays unconscious in the bed. Where is she now? Dean is the one that's been here, all this time. For their Dad. For Sam. For Bobby. Whilst she was off doing whatever the hell it is that she's been doing.