Chapter 35
[Emily's POV]
The man gave me a gorgeous smile that would melt the hearts of fangirls everywhere before nodding his head in confirmation.
"Beautiful and smart," Titan purred, taking a sip of whatever liquid was in the mug in his hands. "That's my girl." He set his mug down and placed his hands on the armrests. "Now, about that talk…"
"You were missing for two years," I spat, suddenly finding my courage. I gripped the ends of my sweater with tight fingers and tried to contain myself. I couldn't lose myself. I needed to focus on why he was there. "Why show up now?"
The man gave a simple shrug and reached back to grab his mug. I narrowed my eyes at him and took a deep, sharp breath through my nose. Titan rolled his eyes at me and leaned back in his chair, ignoring his drink. "You needed saving. I simply inserted myself into the equation."
"But Professor Xavier said…he promised me you were gone and dead," I hissed, feeling a large weight settle itself onto my chest. "How are you not…?"
"Dead?" Titan interrupted me, and I nodded sharply. Titan stiffened slightly and I knew he was resisting the urge to roll his eyes again. "It's simple, Darling. You cannot kill a Titan."
This time, I rolled my eyes and leaned back in my seat, folding my arms across my chest. "Good to see that you are just as narcissistic as I remember."
"I'll take that as a compliment, my dear," Titan chuckled slightly, shooting me a wink. "So, how's the Avengers life for you? Missing any X-Men?"
"Get to the point, Titan," I yelled, leaping to my feet. "I am ready to wake up and have this entire nightmare named 'you' end."
"Oh, but the nightmare won't end once you wake up," Titan corrected me, standing up to match me. He loomed high, his dark eyes focusing in on mine. He took a step forward and the coffee table disappeared completely so there was nothing separating the two of us. Titan towered above me and I felt my skin crawl with anxiety. He looked down at me with a smirk. "As soon as you wake up, some other disaster will happen. Nightmares don't end, Emily. They just pass over from your dreams into your real life and are called accidents, disasters..."
I stiffened and Titan gave me a dazzling smile before flipping on his heel, stalking off into the white abyss. "And where are you going?"
"Clearly, you are in no mind to have this chat we need to have," he called out, not even bothering to look over his shoulder. "We'll discuss that at a later time." Titan paused, then sent a backwards glance towards me. "See you again, Emily dear."
And then, he snapped his fingers and the world turned black.
:/:\:
[Bucky's POV]
The next morning was rough. I woke up before the crack of dawn and slipped on a black muscle shirt, my fingers stalling momentarily to brush against my metal arm. It sent shivers down my spine and I turned away, grabbing a black knitted sweater in case it got cold. Steve kept on insisting that I needed more sleep, but ever since I woke up from the ice, sleep was something that didn't come to me easily. That last time I had a decent night's rest was when I went to Emily's room after my nightmare.
I shook my head to clear my thoughts and slipped out of my room, pausing momentarily when I got outside Emily's room. Only one, flimsy piece of wood separating the two of us. I raised my hand to knock, but stopped myself. We were both pretty upset that our date had gotten interrupted, even though we did manage to save a lot of people. She probably needed her space.
I focused on the path ahead and ignored the aching feeling in my chest as I descended the stairs into the living room, only to be met with a surprise.
Emily was sitting curled up on the couch, wearing a v-neck white knitted sweater, jeans, and slippers. In her hands was a cup of hot cocoa and she was sipping at it daintily as she looked through the large glass walls that had been replaced after Ultron blew the compound up. Her blue eyes peered at the darkness outside. She stiffened at the sound of my footsteps and looked over her shoulder hesitantly, only relaxing when she saw my face.
"Bucky," she whispered softly, and her voice sounded hoarse, like she had been crying. "Why are you up? It's really early."
"I could ask the same question to you," I replied gently, walking over to her. She patted the spot next to herself and I took the invitation, settling in beside her. Instinctively, I placed my arm on the back of the couch, and it slid down around Emily's shoulders. As soon as I realized what I was doing, I moved to take it back, but Emily leaned into my touch and rested her head against my shoulder. So, instead, I relaxed and pulled her close, closing my eyes as I took a deep breath. She smelled wonderful, as usual. "I couldn't sleep. You?"
"Nightmare," she admitted, taking another sip of her drink. I felt a sudden urge to get hot chocolate too, but I was too cozy to move. "About the night my mother died."
I stiffened slightly and nuzzled my nose into her hair. "I heard about that from Steve…" Emily nodded, reaching up and gently brushing away any tears on her face that had spilled over. "I'm going to be honest, Emily, I don't know what to say…"
"I understand," she whispered softly. "It just helps to have you here."
I gave her a gentle squeeze and we sat like that for a minute of silence before I asked, "Will discussing your nightmare help?"
She shook her head and I gave the back of her head a kiss before continuing, "Well, we're both up super early and it seems that neither of us are going to go back to sleep anytime soon. What are we going to do?"
"I don't know," she yawned, rubbing her eyes. "I would usually work out." She was silent for another moment and I took that moment to look out towards the darkened sky. There were no clouds in the sky and the moon was bright and full. Through the glass, I could spot the faint twinkle of stars as they emerged from their dark curtains. An idea popped into my head and I bit my lower lip. Steve would hate it, but he would understand.
Hopefully.
"Grab some shoes," I told her, pulling myself out of her presence. She looked up at me with bleary eyes and a confused expression. "Just trust me. Bring something warm. And meet me in the garage in ten minutes." With that, I raced into the kitchen to prepare our little feast. I grinned at the ludicrousness of my idea, but felt absolutely proud. If only my parents could see me now…
They would love Emily. She had the fieriness deep inside her like my father, but knew when to shut her mouth and follow instructions like my mother. If we were living back in 1945, I would have introduced her to my folks and my siblings. They would've teased my relentlessly and talk about how I finally managed to find a girl and keep her. I gave a small, sad smile as I finished the putting the last of my surprise for Emily inside the wicker picnic basket. I tried not to show how much I missed my family, but it hurt. A lot.
I understood that Emily felt the same way. Her father was supposedly dead, even though he was actually alive. Through the Titan (as Steve called it), she had point-blank killed her mother. Then, there was all the drama with her wings and powers that I couldn't even go into to.
I grabbed the handles of the basket and headed over to the garage, pleased to find Emily already in the passenger side of the Hummer. I slipped the basket into the back seat and slipped into the driver's side. Emily eyed the basket and sent me an incredulous look.
"You want to take me on a picnic before dawn?" she slurred. I could see the wheels in her head turning slowly. "Are you insane?"
"I told you to bring something warm," I retorted gently, and she groaned, leaning in the back of her seat. "Here." I tossed her the sweater I had brought down with me and she grabbed it thankfully, slipping it on.
"Won't you get cold?"
"Super soldier serum, doll," I told her. "I don't get cold anymore." Thank goodness, I added quietly in my head. I turned the Hummer on and we pulled out of the Avengers compound. Once at the road, I turned left and we began our mini trip. We barely spoke in the car ride, Emily making comments about the song on the radio and trying to guess whether or not I knew it yet. Most of the time, I had no clue what it was, let alone what they were saying.
:/:\:
[Emily's POV]
I snuggled myself closer to myself as I pulled Bucky's sweater tighter around me. I smelled sweet, like detergent and gunpowder all mixed into one. Strange sweet, but still sweet. I glanced at Bucky and watched him quietly as he navigated the roads. He was probably one of the safest drivers I had ever met. He always wore a seatbelt and he was a stickler about making sure to turning on his blinkers. The car was heated to the perfect temperature, and just being near to Bucky made me feel elevated.
All too soon, Bucky stopped the car and got out, letting in a cold, rush of air. I squealed and pulled his sweater tighter around myself. It was too early to be cold. He grabbed the wicker basket and came around, opening the door for me.
"Aren't you a gentleman," I snickered, shoving him slightly as I got out. He raised an eyebrow at me and I rolled my eyes. Taking my hand in his, he pulled me away from the car and towards a small, patch of grass. Setting down the basket, Bucky opened it up and brought out a stereotypical red-and-white checkered blanket, which I helped him lie out flat. Then, from within the basket, he produced two fluffy pillows which I instantly recognized from the couches at the compound. How he managed to smuggle those in, I had no idea. Next from the magical wicker basket, he pulled out strawberries and this glass jar with a dark, brown substance that wobbled. Following that was also a single, red rose.
"For you, mademoiselle," he drawled, handing the rose to me. If it wasn't for the darkness, he would have seen that my cheeks went the color of the rose. "I figured we could watch the stars and the sunrise while eating food and being comfortable."
"You certainly know how to wow a girl," I chuckled lightly. He got up and pulled me close, whispering huskily in my ear, "I certainly know how to wow you."
I shivered and blamed it on the cold. In order to lighten the mood, I shoved Bucky and spent the next five minutes running for my life, trying desperately not to get tickled. Sadly, my shorter legs were outrun and Bucky lifted me over his shoulder, walking triumphantly back towards the blanket. I tried to shake myself off, but his darn metal arm get a good grip around my torso. Bucky sat me down, ever so gently, on the blanket and I leaned back, staring up at the stars as he positioned himself next to me.
They all twinkled brilliantly, sending shivers of awe and wonder down my spine as I examined their brilliance.
"This is amazing," I whispered, awestruck. "I've never seen the stars so clear before."
"My family used to go do this," Bucky explained to me, reaching over to grab a strawberry. He took a bite out of it before explaining with juice dribbling down his chin. "My siblings and I would run out of the house in the middle of the night and go to a large, grassy knot to watch the stars fall and the sun rise. My parents apparently knew about it for years, and they were grateful we left, because they did the same on top of our apartment complex. It was sort-of like their date night, you could say."
I laughed before handing Bucky a napkin.
"They sound wonderful," I told him, reaching out and grabbing his free hand with mine. He nodded absentmindedly and I twisted onto my side, looking at him. "I wish I could've met them."
"I'm not sure what happened to them," Bucky said quietly. "Any of them really. I've been too busy with the Avengers and then trying to kill the Avengers, and then being an Avenger to ever try and contact them…"
"You could be an uncle and you don't even know?" I interrupted him, my eyes widening. Bucky shrugged and I pulled my hand away, using it to slap his shoulder. "Bucky!"
"What?"
"We have to go find them," I ordered and Bucky sat up. I followed suit and continued, "I'm serious, Buck. You said you were the eldest of four kids, right?" Bucky nodded slowly. "Which means…"
His eyes widened in disbelief and his jaw went slack. "My siblings could still be alive." I nodded frantically and pulled my phone out of my jean pocket. Thank goodness I decided not to leave the compound without it. I pulled up the search engine and asked, "What's one of your siblings' names?"
"Rebecca," Bucky answered instantly. "Rebecca Barnes, but I don't know what her married name could be."
I still typed up 'Rebecca Barnes' and was bombarded with over 1,920,000 results. "Ok. This might be a little harder than I anticipated. But, nevertheless, we charge!" I searched every profile I could on Facebook and other social media outlets, trying to find something could connect a woman to Bucky. He became disinterested about fifteen minutes into the whole process and, instead, started to eat all the strawberries.
"There better be some left for me!" I scolded him when he got halfway through the jar. I gave a sigh of defeat. "Ok, last one."
I clicked on it and silently prayed that it would match. As I did the other ones, I read it out loud to Bucky to see if anything caught his interest.
NAME: Rebecca Marian Proctor (Barnes)
PERSONAL TAGLINE: "Doesn't matter where you've been, doesn't matter what you've seen. Doesn't matter who've you killed, doesn't matter who've you saved. I'm with you, 'til the end of the line."
As soon as those words left my mouth, Bucky froze. He turned to me and I was startled to see tears in his eyes and already running down his cheeks. I dropped my phone and cradled his face in my hands. "Bucky! Are you alright? What's wrong?"
"T-That's her," he stuttered, a crazed smile forming on his lips. "T-That tagline. She used to say it to me all the time. Before I went out to beat some bullies who were fighting against Steve, before I left for the war…" He let out a whoop of happiness and pulled me into his arms, burying his face into my neck. I sat there, startled, but then wrapped my arms around his chest, hugging him close. "You found my sister."
A/N: Hey y'all! So, this was NOT where I was planning to have Solace's Wings edge towards, but hey! It's cool :) By now, according to my notes, Emily and Bucky were supposed to be living happily as a couple in London with all their X-Men friends, but that obviously didn't happen, so I gotta rechange my idea.
I forgot to put this in the A/N for the last chapter, but my choice of music for writing these two stories was:
Look What You Made Me Do by Taylor Swift (covered by Alex Goot and Tyler Ward)
Young and Menace by Fall Out Boy
Champions by Fall Out Boy
The Champion by Carrie Underwood (ft. Ludacris)
Weird songs to listen to for this story, but good things XD
REVIEWS!:
WildestDreams72394: Yeah, I understand my writing style is sort of wonky for this story (if you read Treachery of a Warlock: Lifwynn and Cwealm, you'll definitely notice a different writing style). Yeah, working on extending the chapters now. All of them have to be at least 2,000 words long. Eventually, I'll push 3,000 and then 4,000, hopefully :)
FanGirlForever19: I'm actually ditching schoolwork in order to post this right now XD. Yeah, I'm making Wanda like the big sister to Emily, which means that Steve is both Wanda's and Emily's older brother XD
Katie MacAlpine: Nah, can't tell you who Titan is just yet ;p. I'm hoping to make his reveal cool and dramatic (it probs won't end that way, but oh well). I still face claim him as Bren Foster. Love that man.
As for when Emily will find out that Loki is her father, who knows! (I sure don't). ALSO!: There will be a sequel to Solace's Wings eventually! I'm going to be making a poll on my profile soon on what the sequel's name should be.
Please leave any comments, questions, concerns, or conspiracy theories. And hey! If you have an idea, please review. I'd like to know what I'm doing for once in my life! XD