Bucky cleaned up the lovely mess we'd made — the hair strewn across the floor, the lingering stickiness. Thankfully, my shirt had survived the chaos. I slipped into the bedroom to grab clean clothes for both of us.
When I came back out, Bucky was sitting on the floor, staring at the blank TV screen, still wearing nothing but those tight black boxers. His eyes flicked toward me, then immediately away when he noticed I was only in my T-shirt, far too short to cover much. I saw him stiffen slightly, his ears tinged red.
We dressed in awkward silence. Bucky, ever the gentleman, turned his back to me the whole time.
When we finally faced each other again, I blurted, "Well, your new hair looks cute."
He chuckled, running his fingers through it. "Thanks. I like it."
He sat back down on the floor, and this time I joined him. We both stared at the dark screen, uncertain of what to do or say next.
"Umm… if we ever do that again," he began, voice low, "we might need to buy something for… you know."
"I don't really need to worry about that," I said awkwardly. I hadn't told him everything about my pregnancy or what I'd gone through to make it to term.
He didn't question it. Instead, he grabbed the remote and flipped on Hulu. "I've been using this to catch up on stuff," he said, scrolling through titles. "Anything you want to watch?"
"I don't really watch TV. So whatever works."
Eventually he settled on The Godfather. I'd heard people reference it but had never actually seen it.
We watched in silence. The only sounds were the dialogue on screen and the quiet ticking of the wall clock. Beams of sunlight began piercing through the blinds as the movie drew to a close.
Afterward, he flipped the channel to the news and started making breakfast — eggs and sausage. I stayed on the broken couch, eyes glued to a breaking story. He returned with a plate for me and sat beside me just as they introduced "the new Captain America." Some square-jawed military guy strutted onto the screen, wearing a knock-off version of the old suit with Steve's shield on his arm.
Bucky stiffened. Confusion and anger twisted across his face.
"I thought you said that Sam guy had it?" I asked between bites.
"He did. Guess he gave it away," he replied, trying to hold back his anger. But the metal fork in his hand bent like a pretzel said it all.
I didn't push. What could I say?
Mira shuffled out of the bedroom, hair fluffed in every direction, wearing unicorn pajamas. "Good morning," she mumbled.
The sight of her seemed to pull Bucky out of his spiral. She climbed into his lap and began eating the eggs off his plate without hesitation. I laughed as she devoured everything, then scraped what was left of mine onto his dish.
He looked at me, surprised, but I shrugged. "She's got your appetite, apparently."
He didn't seem to mind. Actually, he looked a little proud.
We stayed in the apartment the rest of the day, except for Bucky heading to therapy. I stayed behind, waiting on word from Goliath and trying to figure out my next steps. I couldn't stay here forever.
At some point I'd need a place of my own, somewhere close enough that Bucky and Mira could still see each other. Or maybe she should stay with him? She'd need to start school soon, and there were things she needed to learn — things I couldn't teach her.
Despite what Shuri said, Mira had the strength and speed of a super soldier. The idea of her in a regular school terrified me.
When Bucky got back, he turned on the news again. The new Captain America was doing an interview, talking about how much he respected Steve despite never meeting him. Bucky stared at the screen, jaw tight, eyes locked on the shield like he wanted to reach through and rip it away.
Later that night he told me he was going to find Sam in the morning. He said it like a question, like he was silently asking permission.
"We'll be here when you get back," I assured him.
The next morning, he left for a military base where he knew Sam would be. Before going, he handed me his card. "If you need anything, use it. Call me if anything happens."
"Bucky," I said, placing a hand on his chest. "We'll be fine. Also, maybe… don't mention us to Sam. Not yet."
His brow furrowed, but he nodded and left.
I thought he'd be back by the evening, but later that night he called. Said it was going to be a little longer, something came up with Sam and now he was following him on some mission. I told him it was fine, we weren't going anywhere.
It was weird to have someone calling my cell phone with something other than just a report. This was someone calling to tell me when they'd be back and make sure we were okay. My cheeks flushed a little from it.
That night, Goliath contacted me. Said the card had been delivered to a local depot and mentioned a new complication: someone called the Power Broker had taken over parts of Madripoor during the Blip. Goliath said they'd reclaim what they could, but the rest would be up to me if I ever returned.
The next day I took Mira to the address Goliath gave me. It was a bus depot; the package was left in a combination locker. Inside was a card and a new smartphone with a sticky note on the screen: Learn to text.
Damn troll.
After that I went to buy Bucky a new couch. Mira was sitting on the old one that morning and questioning the weird stains and how it broke. I lied and said we'd jumped on it and this is why she should never jump on furniture.
She stared at me in silence for a bit, eyes squinting. She's seriously too smart; I know she didn't buy that. Somehow she always knows when I'm lying and what the truth is. I just hope she doesn't know the truth about this.
Thankfully she let it go after a few minutes, but it fueled my determination to get a new one quickly.
I went to some random furniture store near the apartment. Mira ran around testing out everything, mattresses, couches, even dining room sets. I found something similar to the one we broke: simple, grey, good cushion but not so soft you sank into it.
When I was buying it the man offered to deliver it for an additional charge. We were within walking distance of the apartment, so I could have carried it easily, but people might question a woman carrying a couch alone down the street.
I ended up paying the damn delivery fee for it to come later that day. I paid knowing that Bucky is probably not in as good financial situation as I am now. The card Goliath sent me was what Echo called a trick credit card. It would charge fine in the moment, but the credit debt never came, and the businesses could never collect by the time they realized the money never went through. Only rule she gave me was make sure not to use it on shit to big like a car or house where they were more detailed with finances. But any old store is fine, for safety's sake though I won't double back to anywhere I have used it.
With that, I called our day's escapades to a close after a quick grocery store run to get some real food Mira could eat. Bucky and I can do the military diet, but I don't want her ever having to experience it.
While Bucky was gone, he called me every day to check in. It was weirdly sweet. He updated me on where he was and what was going on, venting about how annoyed he was with the fake Captain America named Walker.
Apparently some group called the Flag Smashers had stolen super soldier serum and were wreaking havoc. I hadn't known the serum could still be replicated, neither did he.
The idea chilled me. Whoever figured it out… needed to die. Another Zola can't come to power.
I found myself looking forward to his calls every day. It was nice to chat with someone about the random dredges of the day. His calls always came at different times since he had to get clear of prying ears. This time it came early in the morning before Mira was even up.
"Morning," I said, picking up.
"Morning. How's everything going over there?"
"Oh, we accidentally burned down your apartment building. Kind of tragic," I joked.
"…"
The deafening silence on the other line told me he couldn't tell.
"I'm kidding, Bucky."
"Oh. Yeah, I know."
No, he didn't, but I'll let him have that one.
"Any chance you have some knowledge on the Flag Smashers?"
"No, sorry. Didn't even know the serum was out there till you told me."
A sigh came over the line.
"I can try to find something out."
"No. It's okay. I know where to go to get the information. I just don't want to."
"Who?"
"Bastard Zemo. I told you about him. Guy knows everything about Hydra and super soldiers. I'll have to break him out of prison, but he's our best shot at stopping this before it becomes a problem."
He told me about Zemo and everything that happened. I'm not thrilled with the idea either, but he's right. Thinking on it, after he breaks Zemo out of prison I should see if I can have a little chat with him. He might know something about why my files at Hydra recorded me as dead, and all the weird shit with my serum.
"Got to go. Sam's back. Might not be able to call you for a bit with both Sam and Zemo around."
"Don't worry. Like I told you, we'll be here when you get back."
With that we ended our call. As he said, I didn't hear from him over the next few days. But I certainly heard from others. Goliath called a few days later telling me Bucky was spotted in Madripoor. Apparently he killed Selby, which was fine by me; I never liked her and she wasn't one of my people.
He was also spotted at the docks blowing up some shipping crates. The place was apparently riddled with bodies. I have no idea what he's even doing there, but I have no doubt the fault lies with Zemo.
Zemo and I are seriously going to have a chat when all this is done. I'm hoping he escapes Bucky so my men can pick him up and get the answers I need.