When the sun finally rose over the city, we decided to head back to the motel to grab our things. We were staying at his place now.
We didn't have much, so packing was quick. Everything fit easily into the trunk of my car. Bucky seemed surprised we had one.
"You have a car?" he asked.
"It was in my storage unit during the Blip," I replied, then quickly redirected the conversation.
Best to keep everything else to myself for now.
As I packed, I stripped the motel bedding off and tossed it into the trunk.
"Why are you taking that?" he asked.
"You don't have sheets on your bed."
"I'll buy some."
"You don't have to. These are fine after a quick wash."
"They're going to know you took them," he said with a grin.
"Yeah, no shit. And they can report that Maya Gunderson stole them."
His brow furrowed. "Who?"
"Fake ID," I said with a Cheshire grin, slamming the trunk shut and getting into the driver's seat.
He rolled his eyes but got in the car without saying another word.
Back at his place, Mira had finally calmed down. She curled up in the corner, nose deep in one of her new books.
"You should probably wash that," I said, pointing at Bucky's shoulder. It was still stained with Mira's tears and snot.
Without a word, he peeled off his jacket and threw it into the washer with the sheets.
"Something you wanna tell me?" he yelled from the laundry area.
Oh, shit. I forgot I threw his stuff into the dryer.
He returned with a few of his weapons in hand, his expression unreadable.
"What?" I shrugged. "Didn't want you shooting at us before we had a chance to talk."
He tossed the weapons on the counter and leaned forward, hands braced, head lowered. His long hair curtained his face, but I could feel the tension radiating off him.
"Anything else you want to tell me?" he asked quietly, frustration visible in the set of his shoulders.
"What do you want to know?" I figured if we were going to live together, I may as well be a little honest, to some extent.
He hopped up onto the counter beside me, tying his hair back into a bun. A few strands framed his face, catching in his stubble. He was in a tight black T-shirt now, and I noticed his new arm, sleek black metal with gold trim. I liked it better than the old one. No red star on this one.
His gaze drifted to Mira.
"She's too into the book to notice anything," I assured him.
He nodded, then asked, "How did you get away from Hydra?"
I jumped off the counter, grabbed the last four beers from the fridge, and plopped back down beside him. I handed him one.
"If we're doing this, it's a two-way street. You ask, I ask. Deal?"
He nodded and took a long gulp.
For the next few hours, we passed questions back and forth.
How we got out.
Who we were before.
What we did afterward.
He was honest. Me? I omitted the darkest parts. Summed it up with "I did what I had to. Focused on raising and protecting Mira."
He looked guilty after I said that, like he was carrying the weight of it too. He didn't ask for more.
"Okay, one more," I said. "Why is your hair so long? Doesn't really seem like your style."
He hesitated. "I don't know… Feels like I can't cut it."
"Do you want to?"
"Yeah. I just freeze every time. And I don't trust someone else to do it."
"Do you trust me?"
He bit his bottom lip. By now, the beers were gone and we'd cracked open a bottle of whiskey he'd hidden in a cabinet.
"I don't know," he finally said.
"Well, let me know when you do." I said finishing off my glass.
Over the next several days, Mira and I got comfortable. Bucky was true to his word and gave us the bedroom. Though, to be fair, I'm pretty sure he was already sleeping on the floor before we got here.
I woke up a few times at night and heard him having nightmares. I didn't say anything. Just stayed with Mira and gave him privacy.
I also learned he went to therapy three times a week. An hour each time. He never brought it up, and I didn't pry.
Eventually, I told him what was really worrying me, Mira. Her powers were developing. I explained about my own ability to heal. And the strange things she said before the Blip.
"So," I asked, "do you have psychic abilities, Bucky? Because I have no idea where she's getting it from otherwise."
"No. I don't. You were given the same serum as me, right? So how do you have regeneration?"
"I wasn't just given your serum," I replied. "I got my hands on my file during that big data dump a few years ago. I was given two serums. One like yours. The other… something older, It said It had been exposed to 'the cube.' I don't know what that means."
He paused, brow furrowed, lips pressing together.
"You know something?" I asked.
"Maybe. Could've been the Tesseract. Hydra had it back in the day. I thought they just made weapons with it."
"They did," I said quietly.
Silence hung in the air between us, thick with everything unsaid.
Finally, Bucky broke it.
"I know someone who can help. Someone I trust."
"Who? Stark's dead."
"He is. And I wouldn't have gone to him anyway. We weren't exactly on great terms."
I clicked my tongue. His expression turned regretful.
Right. We killed his parents.
That would complicate a friendship.
"I'll call them," he said. "They'll have to come here. I'm not allowed to leave the state right now."
And with that, he headed out for the day.
I watched him go, wondering who the hell he trusted enough to help with something like this.