Lie To Me
The dark that swallowed the room was unlike anything Bucky had ever seen. So thick, and so heavy, it could have brought him to his knees. There was no room for air, but somehow he stayed breathing. Then, a voice in the blackness, cool and sinister.
“ Miss Y/LN, we will continue until you’re ready to comply.”
Y/N choked over sobs, “ I don’t know what you want from me .” Machinery sounds filled the room, mixed with her screams.
And then it was light again. His eyes shot over to the kitchen table, only to find her passed out on the ground--blood seeping from her nose.
“Y/N!” Bucky rushed over to her, kneeling where she lay. “Honey, come on. You gotta wake up.” He cradled her head in his hands, and she groaned.
“Steve?” Her groans turned into a whimper as she began to cry, “Steve, it hurts ”
“Steve’s at the Bartons', remember?” He pulled her gently up into his arms. Had she hit her head? Did she need to go to the hospital?
Y/N’s eyes fluttered open, locking onto his in horror. “Ducky?”
His old nickname forced a smile on his face, in spite of the very real fear. “It’s me, bunch. It’s me, I’m here.” He helped to sit up, though all her weight was still leaned against him. Wordlessly, she wrapped her arms around his neck and began to weep. He was helpless to do anything, other than rub her back as comfortingly as he could manage and let her cry. What he’d heard--it had to be a memory. He’d seen magic happen with Dr. Strange and Wanda Maximoff, but Y/N wasn’t an alien, or a sorcerer, or enhanced. She was special and talented all by her own merit.
When the tears finally subsided, Y/N excused herself to clean up in the bathroom. Bucky leaned against the doorway, unsure what to say.
“So how long have you and Steve been a thing?”
“What do you mean?” She called back through the door.
“Well, you live together, right? He’s the person you asked for when you came to, I’m just trying to figure this whole dynamic out.”
The door flew open, “Spit it out, what are you asking?”
“Are you romantically involved with Steve?”
She laughed bitterly, shaking her head and storming out of the bathroom. He followed closely behind her, throwing his arms out. “That’s not an answer.”
They stormed up the stairs and into the master bedroom. In the months he stayed here, he never saw what this room looked like. She’d insisted it was more a computer room than anything since her father never slept there, and when he did he was still working. But the ghost of Nick Fury still loomed, and Bucky steered clear. But there were no ghosts here--just a massive canopy bed with a sprawling viridian comforter. Tucked away in the corner was a plush white wingback chair with a book casually tossed on the cushion.
Y/N snarled as she marched into her walk-in closet, but still wouldn’t say anything to him. No curses, no eye contact. Just pure, unadulterated fuming. He didn’t remember her being this angry before.
“You know what, don’t answer. I’m not sure I really want to know. Or better yet, just lie to me. Because this--” he rattled the doorknob in irritation, “this is unbearable.”
She opened the door, standing inches from his face. “As unbearable as the love of your life showing up on your doorstep after six years , telling you he regrets coming, and accusing you of sleeping with his best friend?”
His breath hitched. “What did you just call me?”
“Oh my God , of everything I said, that’s what you pick up? You’re unbelievable.” She moved to push past him, but he caught her arm. She’d changed clothes quickly--from pajamas to ripped black jeans and a thick cream sweater.
“Say it again.” Bucky insisted.
Blush spread across her cheeks. “I thought you wanted me to lie to you.”
His thumb stroked the inside of her arm. “Lie to me. Curse me. Scream at me. As long as you’re speaking to me.”
“When you left, I didn’t miss you every day. My heart wasn’t shattered into pieces. I didn’t irritate everyone around me with my moping. I moved on. Steve isn’t just a friend who’s staying with me so I don’t go crazy. He’s not currently involved with another person. You’re not the love of my life.”
She barely finished her last sentence before he pulled her in, kissing her deeply. After what he’d done, after all the hurt he’d caused, she loved him. She loved him still. And his heart beat for her.
Later in the afternoon:
As blissful as reuniting had been, Bucky couldn’t shake off what happened in the kitchen. The darkness, the cruel voice, Y/N’s screams. As they walked around the property, and Y/N showed him what everything looked like after six years, his instincts to protect her were in overdrive. What had happened?
“Your silence is as deafening as ever, Ducky,” she complained. “Let me guess, you’re worried about what happened earlier, with me passing out?”
“You didn’t just pass out. What happened?”
She pushed herself off the hay bales, “It’s really nothing to worry about. Just a blip.”
He followed her through the barn, “Hey. Don’t do that, don’t shut me out. That was a hell of a lot more than a blip. And since when do you have powers?”
They walked out through the doors and back toward the house. The snow on the ground crunched beneath their boots. “They came about a year and a half ago. It’s still new for me, I'm still learning to control them.”
He thought of the voice, Y/N’s scream. “What kind of powers behave like that? What happened to you a year and a half ago?”
She turned to face him on the porch, placing her hands on his chest. “Honey, it was a bad dream. You just were visiting a nightmare I had. I’m sorry, okay?”
“Honey, I don’t want an apology from you. I want to know what happened to hurt you so much. I want to know about this new life you have. And I want to make sure you’re safe and healthy.”
She wrapped her arms around his waist, pressing her face into his neck. “I’m fine. So, for today, your first day back, can you please just trust me?”
He kissed her temple, nodding. But they would be revisiting it, and sooner rather than later. Because for the first time since he’d known her, Y/N had lied to him. She wasn’t fine. And it wasn’t just a nightmare.