[The third spin off and fifth book in the "Leave Me Series"]
In which James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes is utterly alone in the 21st century.
Without Steve.
Without Ophelia.
This story will be based during the events before and during "The Falcon and th...
"Wizards," Bucky muttered under his breath as he followed Sam onto the plane. A cordial dislike between them, a paradoxical friendship. But it was in that time as they bitched and bantered that Bucky forgot about a few things. He forgot about his desire to sometimes close his eyes and not will them open again. He forgot that Ophelia was haunting him. He forgot that he didn't have many people who would give him the time of day. He forgot about a lot of things, because, like the soldier he was fashioned to be, once he had a task, his mind was only on that one thing.
Plus, getting his anger out on Sam and bitching at him for giving away the shield was a quick way to light a fire between them.
All it was, was a distraction. Something to keep his hands busy.
Even though they weren't really on speaking terms, or friendly terms, Bucky was startled when Sam asked him. "How... How are you holding up since..."
Bucky winced. Since Ophelia died. He shut himself off from everyone after that, despite his intentions to go change the world like she wanted him to. It felt like an indecent thing, to be hiding away the way he was, slowly chipping away at amends that he had hoped would make him sleep better but didn't. No matter what he seemed to do, no matter if his intention was to move ahead in life, he still felt as though he were running in circles trying to keep his head above the water.
Every breath felt like inhaling ice cold water.
"I'm fine," Bucky blatantly lied to Sam. The fact Sam didn't seem to care that the world chose a new Captain America irked Bucky more than he wanted to admit – he knew Sam's intention to track these Flag Smashers down was righteous and a good thing for him, and that the world picking a new face of freedom was only a minor inconvenience, it felt like a slap in the face to Bucky. And the last thing he needed to add to that pile of stress building up inside of him was talking about O.
Not with Sam.
Even if Bucky knew Sam might be one of the few people left in this world who actually understood on some level. He had known O, he had been friends with O, he'd taken care of O when Bucky tried to kill her in Germany.
And all the reasons that made Sam the right candidate for talking about Ophelia with, also made him the person Bucky didn't want to talk to about it all. No matter what, Bucky felt that the blame was piling up on his shoulders by the second, and looking at Sam's expression, knowing that Sam had been right about Bucky and his unstable tendencies... It just hurt too much.
"You're not fine."
"I'm fine."
"One minute to drop off, Sam," Torres said, a young kid who reminded Bucky of his younger self. The Bucky Barnes who all the pretty girls flocked to.
Bucky was seated on the plane across from Sam, directly across from Sam. His eyes bore into him – it was Sam's fault for mentioning his staring problem, because now he was intentionally staring at Sam strictly to make him uncomfortable. It signalled that their conversation about Ophelia was over.
"So, what's our plan?" bucky asked when Sam got up, preparing to leap out of the plane. He ignored Bucky – which, Bucky understood. After Sam asked about Ophelia and Bucky shut him down with an obvious lie about being fine, Sam had no obligation to tell Bucky anything. But that didn't mean that Bucky wasn't going to push his buttons. "Great, so no plan."
"Thirty seconds," Torres called over the rustle of wind coming in through the open door of the plane.
"Enjoy your ride, Buck," Sam said, pushing Bucky's buttons right back.
"No, you can't call me that."
"Why not? That's what Steve called you."
"Steve knew me longer and Steve had a plan," Bucky said, pulling words out of his ass just to get the last word in.
"I have a plan," Sam said, walking to the door.
"Really? What is it?" Bucky grilled him, but didn't get an answer as Sam leapt out of the plane. "Great."
He looked around for a chute, and when he asked about it, the kid, Torres, told him they were too low for a shute. Bucky made no comment about how all planes should have them regardless of the flight plan – if Bucky knew one thing for sure, it was that things did not always go exactly as planned. But he held his tongue, because if he was going to catch up with Sam and join him on this mission, he would have to jump now, sans shute.
He walked to the edge of the plane, the open door a gaping maw with trees whipping by. It was going to hurt like hell, but he would be fine.
Bucky tore the sleeve off his jacket for more mobility in his metal arm, and a thought of Ophelia crossed his mind. He was doing this for her, for the memory of her, because he promised to do something after she died. And he would, even if Sam got under his skin more than he would like, he had to do this for her.
He had to do this for himself.
He leapt.
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Well now, I'm into the show content. I cranked out a handful of chapters the other day, and I was going to do more today but my half day of work has turned into a 10 hour day. FML.
Anyways, vote, comment, spread the love, buy my book, you know LOL
