Bucky hummed to himself, only half paying attention to the book spread across his lap. Usually, the terrible 80s Sci-fi novel would have been more than enough to keep his attention, his mind sucked into an imaginary world where robots from Mars fought in a never ending battle against a secret society of lizard people (with fantastic breasts, if the cover art was to be believed). Today, however, he found himself more keen to just savor the silence, content in the knowledge that the people he loved were both safe and, barring some world ending catastrophe, he had exactly nothing to do today. Steve (the sadist) had tried to convince him to go to the gym with him that morning- something the brunet usually needed to do, the serum in his veins driving him to burn off excess energy and push his body to the limit.
It turns out that their Rosie was a fantastic substitute.
Bucky was pretty sure that she was trying to kill both of them- and what a way to go. He'd thought he and Steve were bad, but Rose's libido was almost putting theirs to shame. That wasn't to say that she was particularly pushy or aggressive. No, instead she was just hungry. The new level of intimacy they'd added since the beach had woken something in their girl. Whether it was a result of her godhood or just a consequence of her early life, their baby doll was desperately touch starved. Every chance she got she was latched on to one of them, touching any part of them that she could get her hands on. The quarantine had only worsened the issue, turning the petite blonde into a baby koala for the better part of two days. Thankfully, the desperation appeared to be finally wearing off. Rose was slowly but surely settling into herself, even going so far as to finally return to her apartment- at least for a change of clothes...and possibly an actually productive shower (they tended to get distracted).
For the first time in a while, Bucky found himself alone. He'd started out attempting to read, but had found that what he actually wanted to do was sit and enjoy the silence. He'd done his very best impression of a cat, spreading out on one of the massive leather sofas in his and Steve's living room. The sun was coming in at just the right angle, creating a warm spot on the couch without shining irritatingly in his eyes. It was shaping up to be a perfectly lazy, relaxed kind of afternoon- something he couldn't recall having in a long damn time.
He was just about to doze off when someone knocked at the front door.
Well, he thought it might have been a knock. There was one sharp, decisive hit followed by what should have been a second one. Instead, it sounded like whoever was at the door had given up half-way through and just kind of dragged their knuckles down the reinforced door, a dull, scraping noise reverberating through the apartment. An interesting combination of wary and reluctantly amused, Bucky lackadaisically stretched before rolling off of the sofa, yawning as he casually meandered down the front hall.
Opening the door, Bucky's eyebrows shot straight up, lips pursing as he fought the urge to burst into laughter. Rose took one look at his expression and scowled at him- though her "fierce" look was somewhat ruined given that she looked like a half-drowned rat. She was dressed up in too-tight business wear, the top half of her body almost completely soaked through. Chunks of plaster were stuck in the long, tangled mane of her hair, with plaster dust hastily wiped off of her face. She had little wooden splinters mixed in with the plaster, the slivers scattered over her hair and clothes like wooden confetti.
It looked like she'd gotten into a fight with a Home Depot...and lost.
Bucky quickly seceded battle with his growing sense of hilarity, helpless snickers escaping him as he gently ushered in the now pouting blonde.
"Baby doll, you were just supposed to go change. What the hell happened?" Rose let out a pathetic whine, dramatically flopping on to the hardwood (lest she stain the furniture). Splayed out like a sad star fish, the new goddess huffed, mumbling something nonsensical into the floor. The brunet snorted, gently nudging her sprawled form with his foot. "Rosie, I speak 8 different languages but I don't think that was in any one of them. You want to try that again?" There was some more grumbling before she flopped onto her back, face a brilliant pink and eyes squeezed shut in embarrassment.
"I kind of...broke my apartment."
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4 hours earlier
Lips pursed and eyebrows furrowed, Rose absently meandered to her apartment in the Compound, mind spinning as she went over what she had to do for the day. She had roughly 48 hours before she was allowed to return to work and she planned to use every second of it to try and get her life in order. The first thing on her list was probably the most pressing item- namely, the issue of her wardrobe. She needed to go through her clothes and see what, if any of it, still fit her. She was hopeful that, barring some of her tighter outfits and her bras, most of it should fit okay, sparing her from some long, tedious shopping trip.
Who are you trying to fool?
Hope is all I have at this point.
Still caught up in her thoughts, Rose mumbled a quiet "thank you" to JARVIS when the AI opened the door to her apartment for her. Kicking off her shoes in the middle of her living room, she began to make her rounds around her house, inspecting the thin layer of dust settled over everything with a pained grimace. Besides going through her clothes, she would definitely need to clean. Her apartment was starting to look like the Adams' Family mansion- if she didn't do something soon the dust bunnies were going to start to unionize. She also figured she should probably clean out her fridge. The produce inside had been sitting and fermenting in their own juices for close to two weeks now. The Avengers had already had to deal with one sentient artificial life form trying to murder them. They didn't need to add zombified grapes to the list as well.
Definitely not procrastinating, Rose decided to shelve the issue of her clothes for a little while and tend to the much more pleasant (in her opinion, at least) task of cleaning out her apartment and fridge. To her dismay, she manages to clean everything in record time, leaving the space a sparkling and lemon scented (and her refrigerator abysmally empty). All potential avenues of productive distraction exhausted, Rose finally resigns herself to testing her wardrobe.
To say its worse than she had been hoping is an understatement.
She has a whopping three outfits that still fit her and not one of them is appropriate for work. She'd just about reconciled herself to having to replace her entire working wardrobe when she stumbles across one of her oldest outfits- the slacks and button up that she'd first met Tony in. Hit with an unexpected bolt of nostalgia, the blonde hastily decides to put the outfit on. Just by sight alone she can tell that its going to be a tight fit, but she's confident that (with some finagling) she'll manage to put it on. Eyeing the pants dubiously, she decides to try on the button up first.
It turns out that "tight fit" is a bit of an understatement. She manages to get the shirt on, but only just barely. She feels a little bit like Steve, trying to fit her body into a shirt that's a clearly a size too small (or designed for babies). She looks like she's trying to emulate Dr. Banner on a bad day, the buttons straining across her chest obscenely. The top button in particular- the lone button responsible for keeping her now considerable chest contained- fought viciously to keep her decent, the little piece of white plastic holding on by a lone string. She'd forced herself to take shallow breaths, lest she accidentally "blow her top".
You should quit while you're ahead. This clearly doesn't fit you.
No damn it! It's going to fit.
Why are you torturing yourself like this?
She resolutely ignored her inner voice, instead choosing to focus on her next hurdle- the pants. Taking a deep breath (or as deep as she could without shredding her shirt), she scowled down at the unassuming black slacks, silently willing them to cooperate with her.
The pants, as they were an inanimate object, just laid silently on her bed.
Rose still felt like they were mocking her.
Unreasonably offended by the black fabric, she began the slow process of bending over and sliding them on. It starts out easy enough, the pants sliding almost effortlessly over her calves.
The trouble begins once she reaches her thighs.
Before her Ascension, she'd had very thin, almost bird-like legs. She hadn't been completely without curves, but it was a close call. Now, however, she was the cliché "curvy in all the right places"- a fact that was most visible in her legs, the limbs thick with muscle and a thin layer of fat. Grunting with effort, Rose shimmied in place, slowly sliding the pants up her thighs. Face a bright red as she pulled, the blonde awkwardly shuffled around her bedroom, doing the occasional hip thrust in an attempt to get the garment into the correct place. She's hopeful that she might just succeed in getting them on, when the pants get stuck just underneath her bottom. Cursing enthusiastically, she began to hop up and down, vainly hoping that the combination of her pulling and gravity would get the damned things on. After a good dozen hops the fabric finally stretched around her ass, the pants sliding all of the way on. The sudden shift unbalanced her, sending her tumbling towards the wall that separated her bedroom from her living room.
Now, Tony Stark is a billionaire- but that doesn't necessarily mean that he's made of money. Reinforcing walls (especially reinforcing them for superheroes) is an expensive endeavor. As such, he'd designated the reinforcements to the external walls, the training areas, and any of the teams living areas.
Rose's apartment was none of these spaces.
So, when Rose goes careening into the wall with the full force of her now super powered body, she's not met with reinforced steel and concrete. She is instead met with relatively thin wood and plaster, neither of which stand a chance against her. She bursts through the wall like the Kool-Aid man, plaster and wood spraying around her like home improvement themed confetti. Letting out a screech not unlike a pterodactyl, Rose desperately tried to right herself, stumbling over her feet like a wounded gazelle while trying to blink the plaster dust out of her eyes. She's nearly righted herself when she trips over the shoes she'd left on the floor, plowing through her coffee table and then flipping over her couch, the wooden frame snapping ominously.
More shocked than hurt, Rose lay spread eagle on the floor, trying to blink the plaster out of her eyes. When that did nothing, she attempted to wipe the powder off of her face, but found that her attempts only spread the substance around, still leaving her blind. Panicked at her inability to see, Rose shakily got to her feet and stumbled her way to her bathroom, accidentally obliterating more furniture and punching another hole in the wall along her way. Embarrassment and panic fueling her, Rose grasped wildly for her bathroom door, accidentally ripping the thing off its hinges in her desperation. Unbalanced yet again, she flailed into her bathroom, hands waving as she tried to catch herself. She managed to grab at the edge of her sink, but seriously overestimated her grip, ripping the porcelain and the piping attached to it out of the wall.
The good news was that the water spraying everywhere cleared the plaster out of her eyes.
The bad news was that her apartment started to flood.
Screeching, Rose madly scrambled off of the floor and flapped her hands over the sink in an ineffective attempt to stop the water currently spewing like a geyser and soaking the room (and her). When her interpretive dancing proved fruitless, she slapped her hands over the pipe, temporarily halting the flow. Mind racing, Rose desperately yelled up at the ceiling.
"JARVIS turn off the water!" Not a second later there was a tiny "click" and the water finally ceased, leaving Rose completely soaked and standing in the ruins of her apartment. JARVIS finally decided to pipe up, voice an interesting mixture of concern and amusement.
"Shall I call a plumber, Miss Grey? And perhaps a handyman? Or are we considering further renovation?" Feeling a little bit like a drowned rat, the petite blonde scowled up at the ceiling, running a frustrated hand through her now hopelessly tangled hair.
"You've clearly been spending too much time with Tony, JARVIS." When the AI didn't respond, Rose slumped, eyeing her wrecked apartment with a dejected air. "But yeah...that's probably a good idea." Biting her lip, the blonde eyed the ceiling nervously. "I don't suppose there's any way you won't tell Tony about this?" Blatantly entertained by her struggle, JARVIS responded.
"Indeed not, Miss." Rose huffed, face heating in anticipated embarrassment.
"Damn it."
-_-_-_-_-Page-Break_-_-_-_-
Present
Bucky tried not to laugh- he really did- but the story, combined with the absolutely pathetic look on her face proved to be too much. The brunet began to absolutely cackle, the corners of his eyes crinkling as he all but collapsed on the floor next to her. Rose tried to enjoy the sight of him laughing, taking in the dimples deepening on his face and the way his silver eyes sparkled, but found she just couldn't. She felt miserable in a way she was having a hard time putting a name to, something uncomfortable brewing underneath her skin. Unwilling to upset Bucky, especially when he was so clearly happy, Rose resolved to take a couple of deep breaths and see if she could calm down.
That first deep breath is too much for the button on her shirt to handle.
When she exhales, the string holding the little piece of plastic to her shirt finally snaps, propelling the button off of her like a bullet. Rose expects it to bounce off of the ceiling but finds that the velocity was so great that it instead imbeds itself in it, again raining her with a small amount of plaster. Bucky, who'd only just begun to calm down, immediately begins cackling again, tears streaming from his eyes as he curls in on himself.
Rose blinks up at the ceiling, glances in between her now ripped shirt and the wayward button, and then promptly bursts into tears.
The mirth Bucky had been feeling evaporates instantly, concern taking its place as he crawls over to her. Overwhelmed, Rose presses her palms into her eyes, desperate to stop the tears leaking out of them. However, her efforts prove futile, great, racking sobs shaking her frame. Now on his hands and knees at her side, Bucky raised an anxious hand over her body, unsure if the blonde wanted to be touched or not. He settled for making a soothing noise, eyeing the petite blonde with growing dismay.
"Baby doll, what's going on? Is it the shirt? We can get you a new one?" Rose let out a distressed whine, shaking her head in the negative.
"N-no- it's not the shirt- or it's not just the shirt- its just-" She broke off into hiccupping sobs, palms still pressed roughly into her eyes. Bucky gave in to the impulse to touch her, placing a comforting hand on her waist. The move appeared to be the right one, her crying easing as she unconsciously leaned into the heat of his hand. Once she'd calmed down enough she finally continued, her voice noticeably choked with tears. "I'm trying to be okay, Bucky. Don't get me wrong, I'm so thankful that I'm healthy now- I'm thankful that I have both of you- it's just..." She sighed again. "Everything is changing so damn fast. I just wanted something familiar, you know? I thought going to my apartment would help but I just wrecked it because I was so desperate to have something that fit that I shoved myself into something that was too damn small. I feel like a damn alien in my own body and, on top of that, everything is so damn loud and bright and I can smell too damn much-" She breaks down into tears again, everything she's been suppressing pouring out of her like a tidal wave. Desperate for some sort of comfort, she finally takes her hands off of her eyes, blindly reaching out for Bucky. Thinking quickly, the brunet rolled onto his back and pulled her into him, settling her snuggly into his chest. Rose immediately latched onto him, pressing her face into the crook of his neck, taking in the leather and spice smell of him while trying to calm herself down.
Bucky pursed his lips, cradling Rose as tightly to his body as he could while running a soothing hand down her back, his head gently pressed against her own. He let her cry for a couple of minutes, feeling the tension slowly ease out of her body as the agitation she was feeling ran its course. When it seemed like she was finally done crying, Bucky spoke, his voice a quiet purr.
"Rosie, why didn't you say anything before? We can't help you if you don't talk to us, angel." Rose sniffled, absently flexing her hand in the fabric of his shirt.
"You and Steve have been so great- and you have helped me! I am getting used to looking like this. I just-" She broke off, frustrated with her inability to put what she was feeling into words. Luckily, Bucky managed to understand what she was trying to say.
"You just still feel uncomfortable. I bet the new senses ain't helping either." Rose shook her head, tension easing again now that she knew Bucky understood where she was coming from. Truthfully, her heightened senses were probably her biggest issue at this point. Even when she was "alone" she wasn't really alone. On the beach and in Quarantine, the sounds and smells had been muffled, either by the remoteness of the location or special soundproofing. Back in the regular living quarters, her situation was drastically different. The Compound was home to hundreds of people, and those people each had their own list of sounds and smells. The constant influx of information was terribly overwhelming- and she couldn't seem to find an escape from it. Her go to place when she used to get overwhelmed had been the janitor's closet, but the chemical smells inside now made her almost instantly nauseous. Her lingering discomfort with her body, the constant sensory overload, and the destruction of her last safe, familiar place had tipped her to her boiling point. Relaxing into Bucky's body, Rose continued her original thought.
"I tried to handle it on my own..." She trailed off, tone noticeably sheepish. "I didn't want to bother you." Bucky scowled in response, hands reflexively tightening like he was restraining himself from shaking her.
If this was how Steve had felt when he first came home, when he'd insisted on "figuring things out" by himself, then he definitely owed the man an apology. He simultaneously wanted to shake the stupid out of her and hunt down every motherfucker that had hurt her and feed them their own spleens.
"Rosie, you aren't a bother. There is nothing you can say, do, or feel that is going to scare us away. I told you I'd never be 'done' with you, and I meant it. I love you, Rose- all of you. Loving someone doesn't mean just loving the pretty, easy parts of them. Real love means working through all of the bullshit life shovels at us together. But I can't do that if you don't let me in." Satisfied that his point had been made, Bucky tilted her face up and pressed a gentle kiss into her mouth, tenderly wiping the leftover tears from her cheeks. They rested together for a moment, just enjoying the gentle warmth of holding and being held by someone that you love. A couple of minutes later, Bucky suddenly grinned, mischief lighting up his silver eyes and deepening the dimples on his cheeks. He shifted subtly, untangling himself from Rose before gracefully rising to his feet, extending a hand to pull the petite blonde up with him. Simultaneously intrigued and confused, Rose gratefully accepted the hand up, standing with significantly less grace than her boyfriend. Before she could begin to question him, the brunet started to drag her back towards their bedroom, eagerness tightening his shoulders and putting a subtle skip in his step.
"Come on, baby doll, I think I know just the thing to make you feel better- it'll knock something off that bucket list too." Rose flushed brilliantly, arousal mixing in with her confusion.
"If you're talking about number 25, I'm pretty sure we definitely need Steve for that- and I'm almost positive that he's still getting his ass kicked by Nat." Bucky paused in the doorway, brow furrowing as he tried to piece together what his girlfriend was referencing. He mentally went through the list, eyebrows raising in amusement when he finally figured out what exactly she was talking about. Licking his lips, he shot Rose a wink, the smile on his lips taking a dirtier edge.
"Now that's an idea...but later." He scanned Rose's face, absorbing her somewhat fragile countenance with a frown. "Much later. That's a whole afternoon, baby doll, and I don't think you can handle that right now." He resumed his march forward, tugging Rose into their bedroom and then leaving her standing in the middle of it while he drug through his drawers. He emerged a second later with an older t-shirt and drawstring shorts, tossing them to the petite blonde with a grin. When Rose just stared at the clothes looking visibly befuddled, Bucky rolled his eyes, gesturing impatiently for her to put them on. "Come on, Rosie, we're losing daylight here. Strip and change, baby doll." The blonde ran a self-conscious hand through her hair, grimacing when her hand got stuck in the knots.
"Shouldn't I shower or something first? Aren't you worried about me getting these dirty?" Bucky shrugged, unconcerned.
"Nah, angel, it's fine. I picked those because I don't mind you getting them messy and they're easy to move in. We can shower after our little trip. You're just going to get dirty again anyways." Still confused, but deciding to just go with it, Rose did her best to strip out of her wet, dirty clothes and into the ones Bucky had so graciously provided. To her irritation, however, her hair kept getting caught in the fabric or accidentally pinched by the movement of her body, pulling on her scalp in a sharply painful way. After the eighth time the locks got stuck, the blonde let out an angry curse, grabbing the offending hair and scowling down at it.
"That's another thing! This motherfucking hair! It keeps getting stuck everywhere! I can't do a damn thing without it getting knotted up! I have half a mind to just hack this stupid shit off!" Bucky frowned, eyeing her long hair contemplatively.
"Do you want to cut it, Rosie? You don't have to keep it long if you don't want to." Rose visibly deflated at the gentle question, tugging at her hair in frustration.
"No...not really. I've always wanted to grow out my hair, I just wasn't able to. I do like it I just..." She trailed off, shoulders slumping dejectedly. "I don't know what to do with it." Bucky hummed, quickly darting into his bathroom and reappearing with a brush and hair elastic. Now completely dressed, Rose blinked at the items in his hands, not really computing what they were for. Rather than explain, Bucky ushered her over to the bed, placidly forcing her to sit and then perching behind her. As quickly and as gently as he could, he proceeded to comb out her hair, picking out the larger pieces of plaster and wood stuck in it and leaving them in a small pile next to the bed. Once it was as neat as it was going to get without a shower, he efficiently divided her hair into three parts before swiftly braiding it, his metal arm subtly whirring as it carried out the delicate task. After tying it off, Bucky scanned the long rope of hair with a critical eye. Satisfied with his work, he tenderly brushed some of her loose hair behind her ears, a small, pleased smile curling the edges of his lips. A little stunned, Rose ran her fingers down the long coil of her hair, flipping it over her shoulder so she could better examine it. Eyebrows raised incredulously, Rose turned around and grinned at him, waggling the blonde locks in his direction.
"What was that? Since when can you braid?" Bucky waggled his brows, reaching forward to playfully tug at the end of her braid, a small grin curling the edge of his lips.
"You're not the only one with long hair, Rosie." He shook out his dark hair as if to prove his point, giving her a wink. "I'm not much of a fan of how I look with a braid, but you pull it off pretty well, baby doll." Face shifting into something semi-serious, Bucky tucked another loose piece of hair behind her ears before gently tracing his fingers down her jaw and resting them just under her chin. "If you really want to keep your hair long, you should ask Darcy and Nat for help. They helped me with mine when I first came in from the cold; they're probably better suited to help you with yours. I know how to take care of my hair, but I'm not sure how much of that will work with yours." When Rose nodded, the grin reappeared on his face, silver eyes shining with excitement. Nimbly hopping to his feet, he dragged Rose behind him, all but sprinting for the front door. "Come on, angel, let's go get something checked off that list."
-_-_-_-_-Page-Break_-_-_-_-
Rose pursed her lips, glancing between the massive tree and her grinning boyfriend in confusion.
"You want me to...climb the tree?" He nodded, waving the blonde forward. Rose shook her head, crossing her arms and frowning exasperatedly. When it became clear that the blonde was stubbornly insisting on an explanation, Bucky huffed, striding forward and pulling her into the circle of his arms, her back resting comfortably against his front. Humming contentedly, he rested his chin on the top of her head, absently waving at the ancient oak tree sitting at the edge of the meadow.
"Do you recognize that tree at all, Rosie?" The blonde shook her head in the negative, confusion deepening. Bucky hummed again, sounding unsurprised. "I didn't think you would- you were a lite...preoccupied the last time you saw it. How about this? Imagine the tree, but covered in fairy lights." Rose squinted, tilting her head as she imagined what her boyfriend asked her to. After a second she sucked in a shocked breath, eyes widening in amazement.
"Our first date! This is the tree? I didn't recognize everything without the lights..." She trailed off, face flushing a subtle pink, eyes glassing over in fond remembrance. "And you're right- I was pretty distracted." When Bucky chuckled smugly, Rose half-heartedly elbowed him, her brows furrowing in confusion again. "Why bring me here again? And why do I need to climb it? I mean, I know climbing a tree is on my list- I'm just not sure why it's helpful now." Silver eyes soft and expression peaceful, Bucky placidly scanned the tree, eyes fogging over with his own memories.
"Do you know why we picked this tree, Rosie?" Sensing that the question was a rhetorical one, Rose stayed silent, listening intently. "It wasn't for the ambiance- there are plenty of romantic spots in these woods. No...I picked this place for a more important reason- at least to me. I told you that I was a surly bastard when I first got here, Rosie, and I meant it. Truth was, I was a downright asshole. I was a snappy, isolated prick, convinced I had only come to Steve because of what he could tell me about myself. I was still more Soldier than me and no one really trusted me- hell, I didn't trust me. They kept me confined to either the Tower or the Compound and, like you, the sensory overload was driving me nuts." Bucky let out an amused huff. "Darcy, of course, figured out how to pull my head out of my ass. She got me 'walkie' privileges with the caveat that I talk to someone- professionally. I was so desperate to escape that I agreed. The very first thing I did was find this tree." He took a deep breath in and out, eyes tracing the leaves as they shuffled gently in the wind.
"I came to this tree just about every day. I'd climb up as high as I could and just listen, taking in the silence and doing my best to just not exist for a little while...at least at first. Once I started to get my head out of my own ass it became my spot to think- the quiet and the lack of everything made it easier, especially when the noise in my head got too loud. I rediscovered myself in this tree, Rosie. More importantly, I finally realized why I'd actually come to Steve." Rose fought back tears, heart a throbbing, golden weight in her chest as she took in everything he was revealing to her. Voice audibly tight with restrained emotion, Bucky continued. "I realized that I hadn't come to Steve because of information- I came to Steve because he was my home. He'd always been my home- I'd loved him since before I'd known what love really was. Hell, I'd loved him before I'd learned to love myself again." He nodded at the tree, lips curled in a small smile. "I rediscovered love in this tree, Rosie- rediscovered me. Our first date was here because I wanted to discover you here, too. This is my happy place, Rose. I found the best parts of myself climbing this tree- used it as an escape when I needed to, too." He gave her a soft squeeze before waving at the trunk of the tree. "Now it's your turn, Rosie. I'm not sure if you need to escape, or if you need to find yourself, or if it's a bit of both...but I hope you can do it here." Heart full to bursting, Rose twisted around to press a scorching kiss against his lips, expressing with her body what she was too overwhelmed to express with her words.
Her gratitude for him sharing his story and this clearly important place.
Her awe at his sheer strength- not just in his body, but in his fathomless, scarred heart.
And above everything else, her vast, ever-growing, love for him.
She pulled back after a long moment, wiping at the tears that had escaped her eyes. Taking a deep breath she squared her shoulders, resolutely striding to the massive tree trunk. She went to climb but paused at the last second, hands hovering unsurely over the bark. Biting her lip anxiously, she twisted slightly to eye her boyfriend, suddenly unsure.
"How do I do this?" Bucky tilted his head, arms crossed as he smiled at her, silver eyes shining in the fading sunlight.
"Don't think, Rosie. You just do it." Rose swallowed, nodding at him before turning back to face the oak tree again.
She didn't ask him what would happen if she fell. She didn't need to. She knew, the way she knew that the sky was blue and that she needed air to breath, that he would catch her- just like he always did.
Taking another deep breath, she pressed her hands into the bark and began to climb. It was slow going at first, her lingering anxiety and inexperience making her ascent a timid one. However, the higher she climbed, the more her apprehension faded. She savored the way her muscles bunched and moved, her mind clearing of the constant noise that had dogged her every step since that fateful day on the beach. Her heart rate slowed, lungs filling as she took in the crisp, late summer air. Her whole world narrowed down to her next hand hold, the canopy coming ever closer as she ascended higher and higher.
When she finally broke through the top, a huge smile had taken up residence on her face, periwinkle blue eyes glowing in the setting sun. This was something that would have been impossible for her before- her body a cage, trapping her on the ground. Scanning the treetops, she began to laugh, arms spread as she savored the wind caressing her body. She felt all of the peace that Bucky had described, but found that in her climb, she found something else.
It felt like freedom.
~`~`~`~Author's Note`~`~`~`~
Hi guys! So, this was my FAVORITE chapter to write so far- tons of metaphors and slapstick (which I love). Can y'all spot the metaphors? Enjoy the newborn vampire Rosie? I love hearing from you guys!