Monster

The house was quiet when I went to bed and I found that I couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t hear Bucky at all in the other room and I hoped that if he did decide to leave I would at least hear the door open. But no sounds came at all and it really unnerved me to have to listen to the ringing in my ears that came with the silence.

I was still awake when I heard the front door open and close downstairs. I sat upright just in case Bucky had panicked. I knew he must have heard it because I figure he was either a light sleeper like me and Steve, or he didn’t sleep at all. I heard Steve do his usual check of the house and then I heard his footsteps on the stairs. I still waited for a reaction from the guest room but I heard nothing.

Then my bedroom door opened and Steve appeared in the darkness.

“Hey,” he said when he noticed I was still awake. He peeled off his light jacket and hung it on the back of my chair by the window. “I decided to crash here for a few hours, if that’s okay. I have to leave pretty early.”

“It’s fine,” I told him. “I need to talk to you though.” He paused for a second to look at me and I nodded to prove whatever ideas he had in his mind. He pulled off his shoes and then sat down beside me on the bed in his usual spot.

“He came back,” he said quietly.

“He’s in the other room,” I told him. “At least I think he is. I don’t think he managed to sneak out this time. It’s hard to tell. He’s really quiet.”

“How did you convince him to stay?”

“He showed up at the diner. I think he was just hungry and didn’t know where else to go. But Talbot has an agent on me and he spotted her before I did. He didn’t feel comfortable so I brought him back here and made him dinner. I let him use your things again if that’s okay.”

“That’s fine.”

“And I just told him he had to at least stay one night. And we talked… about what we discussed before.” His eyebrows rose in question and I nodded again. “And I kind of… spilled the beans.”

“What do you mean?”

“I told him that I used to work for SHIELD and this was a setup.”

“Why did you tell him?”

“Because I want to gain his trust. I think he’s really making progress and if the only reason he thinks he can’t be here is because of this fake relationship then I wanted him to know it wasn’t real. And apparently he already knows because he mentioned your girl in New York. He just didn’t know if I had any feelings for you.” He sighed and sat away from me.

“I didn’t want to bring her into this.”

“Why didn’t you tell me about her?”

“It’s complicated.”

“But you love her.”

“I do. I just wasn’t sure that she loved me back. Like I said, it’s complicated.”

“I don’t think you have to worry about her. She’s not in any danger. He just mentioned that he knew about her.” He nodded.

“She can take care of herself.”

“So anyway, yeah. I told him. And he said he already knew. He said he could tell I was a soldier. He knows far more than we gave him credit for.”

“He was always pretty sharp. Intuitive.”

“And I’m sorry I didn’t call you. I wanted to but he asked me not to.”

“So he definitely has a thing for you.” I nodded.

“I’m pretty sure,” I admitted. “But I told him it wasn’t the right time to act on it and he agreed.”

“That’s good.”

“Yeah.”

“I guess this means I don’t have to stay over anymore.”

“I’d still like for you to stay as close to him as possible. He needs you.” He dropped his head and nodded.

“I will. I’ll talk to him tomorrow. I'll sleep on the couch?”

“You don’t have to, Steve. It’s not like one more night is going to make a difference. Besides, I’ve gotten kind of used to having you around.” He gave a half laugh and I could feel the tension easing his shoulders. I knew he still probably wouldn’t get any sleep. But at least he could be himself again.

“Alright,” he said with a nod. “I'll stay. But just so I can keep an eye on him.”

“Deal.”

Notes