Almost went two months without posting again. I am very sorry about that, but this chapter is my longest one so far, so hopefully that makes up for it. This chapter contains a lot of things about Ana's personal history, and I had a hard time writing it because some of the things I wrote about were based off my own experience and I found it to be a bit triggering. This chapter does stray a bit from the usual content of this story. It may seem a bit boring, but I think it is necessary. Anyway, enjoy the chapter, please favorite, follow, and comment to let me know what you think :)
"Does this mean you're my girl now?"
Ana blushed, "I don't know, does it?"
Bucky kissed her again, this time feeling the heat from her flushed cheeks, "Only if you want it to." he whispered huskily.
"Ana wrapped her arms around him, "I think I do, but… I've never really… well, I never… I umm… "
Bucky bit his lip to keep from grinning at her shyness. She looked adorable when she was so flustered, "What is it, sweetheart?"
"I just, haven't dated anyone in a long time, and I don't know, anyone I dated before wasn't anyone I really loved."
"You think I know what I'm doing? I haven't dated in 75 years!" Bucky joked.
Ana laughed at his observation. It was true, they both had obstacles to overcome when it came to relationships.
"Listen, Ana, " Bucky said seriously, "We'll take this as fast or as slow as you want."
"You won't even tell Steve?" Ana questioned, giving him a skeptical look. Being one of Bucky's closest friends, she knew he couldn't keep secrets from Steve, but Steve hardly kept secrets from Natasha, who has never kept anything from Clint, who always tells Tony, who tells Pepper and Bruce, then they tell Sam who tells Wanda, who would tell Maria and Jane, who tell Thor and Darcy and Coulson, and then the whole world knows and it ends up a disaster. Ana's first secret is almost halfway down that chain already so she can't help the twinge of urgency and panic when she asks Bucky. He calms her and gives her his word he won't tell a soul until she's ready.
They stroll slowly through the streets as the daylight starts to fade and eventually make their way back to the base. Steve is frustrated they weren't at the debrief and asks what they've been up to. Bucky makes up a lie on the spot about a bakery with the most amazing scones and Steve buys it, so Ana lets out the breath she'd been holding,
The flight back to New York was uneventful, and there was a refreshing calmness that hadn't been on the earlier flight that day. Steve used this as an opportunity to take a nap, Natasha enjoyed the view from her seat at the front of the plane, and Ana was-of course-using the time as an opportunity to read. Bucky, however, used the distraction of everyone else to his advantage, and slowly reached to grasp Ana's hand. She startled at first, but when she saw Steve and Natasha weren't paying attention, she allowed him to hold her hand for the entirety of the flight, so long as he allowed her to turn the page in her book when she needed to.
When they finally land, Ana had finished her book and was cleaning her gear. She exited the jet, prepared to go straight to her room and lay down, probably order some takeout, and maybe have some coffee. She was expecting to be met with smiles from her teammates, and say goodbye to Thor before he returned to Asgard. What she found instead, was Tony and Pepper, both wearing expressions that could only be read as 'We have really bad news but we're trying to act casual about it'
She set her gear down on the table, which Pepper absolutely hated, but this time she didn't even so much as flinch. Ana knew something was wrong.
"What's going on?" Ana asked nervously.
Tony and Pepper exchanged worried glances, having another one of their seemingly telepathic conversations. Ana stood nervously, shifting her weight from one foot to the other, until Tony finally spoke, "Honey, we have something to show you, but try not to freak out, okay?"
"Okay… " Ana mumbled. She looked a little nervous. Not that anyone would blame her. Tony and Pepper were acting really weird.
"You might want to sit down, Ana."
Ana sat on the couch, "Seriously, what is this about? If it's a joke it's not funny." she said, trying to sound tough but her voice was cracking.
"It's okay, sweetheart, " Pepper comforted, "JARVIS, turn on the TV."
The screen flashed images from what was obviously a phone video, while a colorful news banner rolled across the bottom of the screen. Ana saw herself, beating the crap out of the guy who'd attacked Bucky, when the video showed her finally taking him to the ground, it cut back to a studio image.
"Video provided by a civilian shows this girl, aggressively taking down an opponent who attacked the Winter Soldier on an Avengers mission in Copenhagen today. It has not been confirmed whether or not this girl is a member of the Avengers team but- "
Ana switched the channel as fast as she could but the same story came up.
"The Avengers appear to have another member of their team they have not yet revealed to the public."
Ana switched again.
"Spectators say she may have been one of Black Widow's aliases or disguises, however it seems unlikely that-"
Ana flipped through four more channels, hoping to find another story, any other story; instead, she only found more reports of her appearance.
"Witnesses report the girl was armed an-"
"Are there other secret members in the Avengers? Why keep them secret? We will have more tonight at 6, after our story on-"
"Okay, enough." Pepper said, turning off the TV. Ana felt tears escape her eyes. She couldn't help herself. All this time she'd spent being so careful to keep her identity safe and it was all ruined in seconds; and it wasn't like she could be mad at anyone but herself. She had disobeyed an order from Steve and that's how this happened. It was her own fault.
Tony saw her crying and put his arm around her. "Hey, don't worry," He comforted, "Pepper's already called some pretty powerful people to get this taken care of. I give it four days, tops, before they're all reporting on something stupid again like politics and cat videos."
Ana pulled away from Tony's hug, "Really?" she asked, worry evident in her voice. It was times like this when he realized just how young she was. She wasn't even 25 years old yet and the stories she had to tell could keep him awake at night. Those secrets were something she decided not to share and therefore, were not for the world to know. She deserved her privacy. He was pissed at the people who would try to deny her that right.
"Really." he said, "Do you know any person who's gonna get on Pepper's bad side?"
Pepper was already furiously typing on her laptop while simultaneously talking into her phone. Ana shook her head.
"Exactly, and if they even try, I'll go over there personally and kick their ass."
"Tony!" Pepper reprimanded with her hand over her phone speaker..
Ana let out a small laugh, which everyone could tell was mostly forced. "We're getting some takeout, " Natasha announced, "You want any?"
"Yeah," Ana replied, 'I just need to go and change first."
As soon as she left, Tony made eye contact with Bucky. He nodded his head towards the elevator, and Bucky didn't have to ask what he meant. He was already thinking the same himself.
Bucky entered Ana's apartment, and called out for her. He heard some clunking in the bedroom, and went immediately to investigate.
He found the bedroom empty, so he knocked on the bathroom door.
"Ana? Are you alright?"
"Bucky?" came the muffled response.
"Yeah, Darlin', it's me. Are you okay in there?"
"I'm fine." she said back. She sounded alright, but Bucky still couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.
"Will you open the door?"
"No!" There was a panic in her voice now.
"Why not?"
"Because I… I… I broke my promise!" Ana bawled. Bucky wanted nothing more than to burst in there and wrap her in his arms and tell her it was okay, but he wouldn't push her boundaries.
"Did you hurt yourself?" He asked, trying to keep his voice steady.
"Yes." came the reply. It sounded so small and scared and alone. Bucky felt his heart ache for her. She was his girl now, and he was gonna make sure she never felt that way while he was around. He would make sure he saw the same Ana he did: strong, intelligent, and compassionate. With that determination, he took a deep breath to steady his emotions before speaking.
"Ana, do you remember what you promised me?"
"That I'd stop." she snapped, not at him, but at herself. Bucky corrected her though. "No, you promised you'd try, and I can tell you did. This is only one relapse. I am not mad, but I want to be sure you're okay, can you please let me in?"
He waited a moment, then the door slowly opened, Ana had tracks of salty tears running down her cheeks, and a firm grip on a small silver blade between her fingers. Her jacket was thrown carelessly on the floor, leaving her in just a gray tank top. She had cut herself on her upper arm, just below her shoulder. He could see she'd applied pressure to stop the bleeding, based on the gauze and towels lying on her bathroom floor.
"I'm sorry," she sobbed, while her makeup streamed in smudged lines down her cheeks, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"
"Shhh, it's alright." he said as he knelt down beside her,and pointed to the fresh cuts, "Did you clean them?"
She shook her head.
"Can I help you?" he asked. He could tell she wanted to say no with every fiber of her being, but she tearfully agreed to his help.
He went about cleaning her up with extreme gentleness, being careful not to hurt her. He worked silently, only occasionally speaking to whisper reassurances to her. After she had fresh bandages covering her new cuts, Bucky instructed her to change, as her shirt was stained with blood.
When she was done changing into her leggings and hoodie, she reentered the bedroom, looking much calmer than before. Bucky noticed she almost seemed relaxed now. He was hopeful she'd put the incident behind them. Ana had a tendency to dwell on her mistakes and what she believed to be her own flaws, but he didn't want her to do that to herself now. It was important she learned to forgive herself.
"You ready to go get dinner?" he asked.
Ana checked her reflection in the mirror for puffiness or laeftover makeup smudges, then she nodded to Bucky, "Yeah, let's go."
On the main floor once again, Ana tried to make conversation to avoid the thinking about what she'd seen on the news earlier. Pepper had reminded her again that she didn't need to worry, but she couldn't help herself. She felt nauseous and weak, and secluded herself to the kitchen. Bucky looked on with concern, fighting every urge he had not to follow her, or to wrap his arms around her and hold her and kiss her. He was trying not to noticeably watch her, but his eyes couldn't help himself when her phone rang. He had to say she looked upset by it. Almost distressed, as if she'd been expecting the call. She stepped onto the balcony, and Bucky held his breath the entire time.
When she reentered the room, she was finishing up the call, and had now caught the attention of Tony.
"Okay… I'll call you tomorrow… bye."
"Who was that, Stasia? If anyone's got your number I'll take care of it."
"It's okay, Tony, I know who it was."
"Who?" Bucky blurted. He hadn't meant to, but he had wanted to know too.
"Oh, umm, " Ana started awkwardly, "It was my brother. My mom saw me on the news, I guess, and she recognized me. He called to see if it was "
"Wait a minute." Tony said, "You have a mom?!"
Everyone turned to face Ana. Her face flushed red, "Well yeah," she said, "Doesn't everyone?"
Tony only stood there gaping, "I thought Steve was your mom?!"
A few snickers escaped from Clint and and Sam.
Pepper rolled her eyes, "I think what Tony means to say is that you've never mentioned your parents."
"Or your brother!" Clint added.
Ana nodded, pulling on her sleeves, "I know. We're not very close, my parents and I, but I suppose I owe them an explanation for all this." She scrubbed her hands over her face, "I'll probably have to go and visit them now."
Pepper nodded, "If you need the jet-"
"I'm fine." Ana replied with a forced smile, "I'm only going to Westchester."
"Westchester?" Bucky gawked. He had thought her parents didn't live nearby. That's what she'd told him.
Tony seemed even more confused at the prospect of Ana having parents. He ranted continuously, "How could you not tell us about this, Ana? You have a mom, a brother, and I bet you have a dad too?"
"I can't believe you, Tony." Ana said, shaking her head, but there was a small smile on her lips.
"Well I can't believe you had a family you never told us about! I thought we were your family!" He exclaimed, gesturing to the rest of the room, "You've got Mama Steve, your whacky brother Clint, and your scary sister Natasha. Wanda is like your half-sister or step-sister or something, and Thor is like your weird uncle, and then there's your crazy cousins Sam and Scott."
"What does that make you then?"
"I don't know, I kind of thought I was like the cool uncle and Pepper can be your badass aunt." Ana was laughing now. It seemed Tony's scheme to make her feel better had worked a little. That is until Clint interrupted with, "Then where does Bucky fit in?"
Ana's face flushed a bright pink again, but this time Bucky felt his cheeks burning too. Tony smirked, "That is yet to be decided." he announced. Ana laughed it off, then she went to her room, telling her friends she needed to to unpack from her mission.
Bucky went by Ana's room again that night to check on her after how distressed she had seemed earlier. Ana was pacing around her apartment, on the phone again.
"Do you promise, Logan?" she was saying, "I'm not going without you." Bucky couldn't help himself from listening, even though he knew it was rude.
"I'm sorry I never told you about this," she said, "I'll explain everything, at least to you, this weekend… love you too." she hung up. Bucky was taken aback by Ana's ease at saying "I love you" to whoever was on the phone. Though he didn't want to admit it, he felt a small twinge of jealousy.
"Who was that?" he asked with a bite he hadn't intended.
"My brother." Ana sighed, hanging her head, "I feel so bad for lying to him all these years."
Bucky suddenly felt childish for his jealousy.
"If you don't mind me asking, doll, why didn't you tell them. I don't understand why you wouldn't tell any of us about them either?"
Ana sighed, "My parents aren't exactly the usual kind. I didn't want anyone to know about them and make assumptions about me because I'm nothing like them."
"Babe, we know you, and we love you. How would your parents make us think of you differently?"
"My parents have money. Not like Tony or anything, but I grew up pretty well off, and I try my absolute hardest not to reflect any part of that life. That, and my parents never really supported my choices throughout my life and they… didn't approve of… a lot."
Bucky got the hint and didn't ask anymore questions. Ana seemed on the verge of tears again, she sunk down into the couch with her head in her hands, "I just can't face them after all this."
Bucky sat beside her and rubbed her shoulders.
"It'll be okay, Ana. If you want, I would go with you?"
Ana bit her lip. "What would they think though? The team and my parents? I'm just not ready to tell anyone about us, and we haven't even been on a real date yet."
"Ana, if you have to do this, let me help you." Bucky pleaded, "You don't have to introduce me as your boyfriend."
"Even if I don't, they'll still be rude. It's what they do."
Bucky tilted Ana's chin to look at him, "I don't care what they think of me. I'm not going for them, I'd be going for you, is that want you want?"
Ana nodded slowly, "Please."
Bucky pecked her cheek, "When are we leaving?"
Ana stood on the porch of her parents home. She could see the awe Bucky was trying to hide. The house was large, with a pool and tennis court in the backyard, and a separate garage with an apartment above. The large windows made the house seem inviting and open, but this only served to make Ana more uncomfortable. She was cowering, afraid to ring the doorbell. She took in a sharp breath, "Wow, I haven't had such a hard time breathing since my debutante ball." she laughed nervously.
"I don't know what that means." Bucky said.
"Consider yourself lucky you've never worn a corset." Ana muttered back.
"Okay babe, I'll believe you, and I know you're nervous but you've still got to ring the bell."
Ana took another breath, "Okay, yeah." Her chest had sharp pains going through it all day, but she pushed those aside and rang the bell. The sound echoed through the house, and they waited for a small eternity until they heard footsteps.
The door creaked open like one from a horror film. Ana had closed her eyes in anticipation of her parents standing there, ready to start humiliating her for being late. But when she saw her brother standing there instead, part of her fear melted away.
"Logan!" She squealed, throwing her arms around him. He returned her embrace. Bucky, who was stood off to the side, cleared his throat.
"Oh, sorry." Ana mumbled, side-eyeing Bucky, "This is my friend, James, who I mentioned in my phone call."
"Ah, yes," Logan began, extending his hand forward, "Very nice to meet you." Bucky returned the handshake and the greeting, before Logan wrapped his arm around Ana once again.
"Now there's someone you need to meet, and then you need to tell me all about what it's like working with superheroes. That Tony Stark guy seems like a real jerk."
"You got that right." Bucky muttered. Ana elbowed his side, "He's not so bad once you get to know him." she corrected.
Logan led them into a room where three other people sat. A young woman stood and approached them. "Ana, James, this is my fiancee, Jenna." Jenna hugged Ana briefly, and Bucky saw her stiffen. He knew it had nothing to do with Jenna though, and mentally kicked himself for not watching her more closely that morning.
"Logan has told me so much about you!" she gushed, "I'm so glad we can finally meet."
Ana expressed her excitement as well, and finally turned to face her parents. "Hello, Anastasia." Her mother said. She was a thin, petite woman, much like her daughter, but appeared to be more frail. She held a haughty and false attitude of friendliness in her sharp facial features.
"Hi, mom." Ana mumbled, "Where's Dad?"
"He will be joining us at dinner, he's running late from the office again." she said with a smile, turning to Bucky, "You must be Anastasia's friend. Tell me, do you work with the Avengers as well?"
"Yes, Ma'am." Bucky replied.
Lauren smiled, "How wonderful, it's a shame we've never met before, but Anastasia never bothered to mention working with such an… elite group."
"For good reason." Ana muttered. She could feel her mother's condescending judgement, and practically hear the comments she was trying to hold back.
"It's amazing she managed to find employment at all, without a college education or a marriage connection." Ana felt her mother's eyes tear right through her. She rolled her eyes. Of course. Of course her mother couldn't go five minutes without pointing out she never went to college.
"I'm gonna show Bucky the house, if that's alright?"
"Oh, of course dear, I've even made some renovations you should see." Ana rolled her eyes, "Yeah, okay. Logan, wanna come with?" Ana interrupted.
"Sure, sis."
Ana led Bucky out of the living room, and back to the curved wooden staircase. Alright so to the left here is the dining room, kitchen is that way, and there's a bathroom, office, and game room down that hallway." Ana said, pointing in each direction.
"Wow, doll, you're tour guide skills are impeccable."
"Thanks, but I know you don't care, I just need to get away from my mother. Can you believe her?! I can't be here one minute without being criticized for not going to college."
"Whoa, whoa, calm down." Logan started, "Just relax, okay? This is supposed to be about you, telling them about how your life turned out. Now why don't you and Bucky take a walk around the house, and I'll go talk to mom, okay?"
"Fine." Ana huffed. She showed Bucky all the rooms downstairs, including the study, and Bucky could see where the book obsession started. Then she took him upstairs, and showed him the media room and the staircase to the attic, finally she opened a door near the end of the hallway, "And this is… " She reached out and turned the handle, and her face fell. She took some unsteady steps into the center of the crisp, clean, and pristine bedroom. She turned in circles observing every detail, while expression of disbelief grew on her face. "Well, this was my room." she declared sadly. With a quick turn on her heel, she fled the room. When she reached the landing of the stairs she was face to face with her mother.
"What did you do to my room?!" she demanded.
"I renovated. We needed another guest space."
"What did you do with all my stuff?"
"You mean all your posters and things? I didn't want to keep them around." she said with a passive wave of her hand.
Ana's lip trembled as she tried to keep calm. "How could you do that? That was my room. You didn't even ask me!"
"As I recall, Anastasia, this is my house, and I don't need to ask permission to renovate the room my daughter moved out of long ago."
"But all my memories… pictures, movies, books- "
"We can discuss this later, Anastasia." Lauren barked, "You're father will be here shortly. Let's try to have a pleasant dinner."
Ana tried to blend in and make conversation, but her sulking was apparent to Bucky and her brother. Ana spent time getting to know Jenna, who was actually nice enough to lift her spirits some. She had a very friendly nature, and seemed like a good fit with her brother. Ana learned she was in med school, and came from a good family, which was probably why her mother was so hospitable towards her. When Richard Collette arrived, he greeted his family and introduced himself to Bucky, and everyone was called to the dining room. Bucky was seated next to Ana, who was next to Logan at one end of the table, with Jenna next to him, and Richard sat at the the other end next to his wife. Bucky seemed a bit confused by the fact they were being served in their own home, but followed Ana's cues. The food was good, and things seemed to be going well while Jenna and Logan kept small talk going until Richard turned the conversation around.
"So, Anastasia, I believe we are here to discuss what your mother and I saw on television this week."
Ana knew this was coming, but she still had to collect herself.
"What do you want to know?"
"Well I was hoping you could enlighten us as to what exactly you were doing? I thought you were still in the Marine Corps?"
Ana sighed, and put down her fork. She related how she had been recruited to a special organization because of her skills(leaving out the parts about Hydra), and that she had been helping the Avengers for about three years. She explained she kept it secret for the sake of her privacy, but her mother protested that nothing should be private from her parents.
"These are matters of national security, mom. She doesn't have to tell you anything." Logan defended. Ana smiled at him, and he returned it. Her mother remained quiet for the rest of the meal, whatever Logan had said to her must have been serious.
"So, Ana, why don't you tell us more about work?"
"I really like it. I get to travel and work with amazing people. I'm happy."
"And how about you, James?" Ana's father asked, how long have you been working with these 'Avengers'?"
"Not much longer than Ana." Bucky replied.
"And what did you do before that? What college did you attend?"
"Well, Sir… I… uh," Bucky stuttered. Ana should have known her father would ask something like that. She mentally kicked herself for not making him stay home.
"I never went to college." He finally said, "I joined the army."
Ana's mother scoffed and rolled her eyes. So proud her daughter has found someone like her to share her life with. Her father, did not so openly express his disapproval, "I enlisted as well, and finished my degree at Yale after."
"Yale's a great school." Bucky agreed.
A sort of silence fell over the table. Until Jenna asked Ana about her favorite place to travel. "I'm trying to plan our honeymoon trip." She explained, "We want to go somewhere different."
Ana gushed with excitement about places like New Zealand and Reykjavik.
The conversation took a good turn, that is, until after dessert. Everyone was sitting in the "drawing room", breaking into smaller groups for conversation. Logan, Bucky, and Richard, and then Lauren, Jenna, and Ana. The drawing room was quaint, with a wood burning fireplace in the corner. As a result, the room was becoming quite warm, and Ana could feel herself perspiring a bit on her forehead. Ana stole a glance at Bucky to see if he was suffering the same fate. He was wearing a light, long-sleeved shirt, and seemed fine. Ana herself however, was wearing a thick cardigan over a black lace camisole. She was growing more and more uncomfortable by the minute. Straining to focus on anything but the growing warmth from the fireplace. She shifted nearly every three seconds now, trying to subtly fan herself. Unfortunately for her, her mother noticed her discomfort, and didn't restrain herself to comment on it.
"Are you warm, Anastasia?"
"Just a bit."
"Well why don't you take your sweater off?"
"I'd rather not." Ana said in a biting tone.
"Why not, dear?" her mother asked, before her face changed demeanor. A scowl crossed her lips, as she leant in towards Ana to hiss in her ear, "Don't tell me you haven't stopped that disgusting habit."
That was it, Ana decided. She could take no more. She got up and stormed out of the room. Bucky turned from the conversation he was having to call out to her. She ignored him completely in her anger and kept walking. He was right on her heels until she turned the corner and stomped out the door, slamming it behind her. The sound bounced off the walls. Bucky was about to run for the door, when he felt someone grab his shoulder.
"I'd give her some time, son." Richard said.
"Do you know where she's going? What happened?" Bucky was frantic.
"Relax, kid, have a drink. She won't go far I'm sure. She runs off a lot."
"And that doesn't concern you in the slightest?" Bucky asked, appalled by the reactions of Ana's parents. If he had a daughter of his own, and she stormed off, he would not rest until he found her, and held her until she was no longer sad.
"She's not a good fit in our family. She didn't want to accept what we could give her. If you ask me, that's ungrateful. She went about causing a scene when I wouldn't let her go to NYU, all to end it by running off and joining the military with no consent from me or her mother. The grief that child has caused her mother and I is almost unexplainable."
Bucky was pissed now. He stared Richard down. Being a good three inches taller gave him an advantage in making a very prideful man feel small. His eyes were so stern, but he kept his tone even, never raising it once.
"With all due respect, sir, I think you're horribly mistaken. Ana actually came here tonight against her better judgement, which I now understand, to tell you about her life and all you've done is ridicule her. She's served her country, and made sacrifices you wouldn't believe. She is far more intelligent than any Yale graduate in my opinion, and yet you still said such cruel things to her. If that's any hint as to how she spent the first seventeen years of her life with you, I can say I absolutely understand why she would run away. You are no father to her anymore, and shouldn't have any part in her life from this point on."
Bucky stormed out the front door. He was halfway up the driveway to call a cab when I voice from the porch caught his attention.
Logan jogged to catch up with him.
"Look, my mom just told me what happened, and you're probably too angry for me to tell you right now so I think we should focus on finding Ana."
Bucky nodded solemnly.
"I think I know where she went. The bar a few blocks down." Logan said, "Follow me and we'll take the car."
Logan had been correct, Bucky realized, as he entered the bar they had come to. Ana was on a stool, slumped over and staring into her glass. Bucky approached her slowly, and placed his hand on her shoulder. Ana met his eyes with her own tearful gaze.
"Hey, doll," He said, "want to go home now?"
Ana shrugged his hand off, nearly falling out of her seat when she did so.
"I'm not done yet." She groaned, her words slow and slurred from the alcohol.
"I think we should get you home and to bed, darling."
"Noooo!" Ana slurred, trying to move away from him, and again nearly falling out of her chair. Bucky actually had to catch her this time or her face would have an unfortunate meeting with the floor. When he finally got a hold on her, she went entirely slack against him and he had to support her just to sit up.
"How many drinks have you had?!" Bucky exclaimed incredulously, knowing she couldn't have been here very long.
"Only... three!" Ana slurred again, holding up three of her fingers.
"Don't lie to me, Ana." Bucky scolded, "This is serious."
"She's not lying." The bartender who was cleaning a glass nearby interjected, "She's only had three since she's been here."
Bucky turned his attention to Ana again. "Well I'm still taking you home."
"No!" Ana screamed, scratching at him, "I won't go back there! Did you hear what they said about me?!"
"No, not that home, Ana. Your real home. Our home."
Ana giggled. "I didn't go to college because they wouldn't let me. I had to run away!"
"I know." Bucky whispered, picking her up.
"They didn't want me to be a writer." She droned on, "They thought it was a waste of time."
"You know it's not."
"Well they thought sooo… " Ana giggled again as Bucky put her down in the car. "Logan!" she squealed.
Logan sighed, "I forgot to tell you my sister's a total lightweight." he said.
"No kidding." Bucky said, sliding into the backseat with Ana and buckling her seatbelt for her. She leaned her head on his shoulder.
"You know what the worst thing was?" she said, starting to look tearful, "When they said they'd send me away? To be fixed, you know?"
Bucky had a small idea of what she could mean. He looked toward Logan, and the expression he wore was so grave Bucky thought he'd seen a ghost. Clearly he didn't want to talk about it. When they got to the house, Logan offered to drive them back to New York, rather than call a cab.
"Yeah, and if you'll let me, I think there's something I should explain to you."
Logan was making the drive back to the city, while Ana was finally passed out in the back seat. Bucky sat shotgun now, listening to Logan explain Ana's outburst from earlier.
"Even when Ana was younger, she was a little different. She didn't see the need for all the things we had. As you could probably guess, she didn't care about much more than books, coffee, and guns."
Bucky chuckled a bit at that. It definitely matched the description of the Ana he knew and loved.
"She grew up bullied in school, and spent a lot of time to herself. After I went away to college, she told me she'd quit the gymnastics team. I didn't understand until I came home for Thanksgiving, and I found some scars on her wrist. She promised she'd stop so I left it at that. I think she did stop, until she applied for college. She didn't want to go to Yale like me and my dad. All she wanted was to go to NYU and study journalism and writing. Not the choice career path for someone from a family of real estate and insurance businessmen. So my parents told her they'd never accept it. After that argument I caught her running to her room and cutting again. I was scared for my little sister, and I know now I shouldn't have done what I did but I told my mom what I saw. I thought maybe she'd realize how much they were hurting their daughter, but no. She told my dad and they were both angry. They threatened Ana. Telling her they'd send her to a mental hospital if she didn't "pull herself together" So that night she took a train and found me at Yale. She told me she was joining the Marines and I begged her not to go but she did. And I didn't see her for about a year." Logan sighed, finally ending his story, "I guess she got worse after she left." he said, and Bucky nodded.
"I'm glad she has you, though. You two are a great couple."
"How did you- ?"
Logan laughed, "Please, my sister's never looked at anyone the way she looks at you."
The car pulled up in front of the tower and Bucky thanked Logan.
Logan nodded, "No problem. I'll be honest; I know who you are, and I was a bit skeptical of you at first, but you're definitely the kind of of guy my sister deserves."
Bucky hadn't known this guy very long, but he knew he was a nice guy, and Ana cared about him too, which only made him more grateful of the complement.
"Thank you, Logan. I love your sister very much, and I know she loves you too. I'll have her call you tomorrow as soon as she's sober."
Logan laughed, "yeah, have fun with that one."
Bucky got out of his seat to unbuckle Ana and wake her up. He carried her bridal style, turning to give one last wave goodbye to Logan before entering the tower.
Ana was flailing her arms and singing loudly through the lobby.
"Anything you say, can and will be held against youuu, so only say my naaaaame, it will be held against you… Cause I'd trade all myyy tomorrows for just one yesterdaaaay!"
Bucky sighed as they got in the elevator. All he needed to do was get Ana in bed so he could go and sleep himself.
"Good Evening, Mr. Barnes." JARVIS announced. That couldn't be good.
"Yes, Jarvis?"
"Mister Stark apologizes for interrupting so late, but he wishes to speak to you on the main floor."
Bucky rolled his eyes and looked down at Ana. She was still drunk off her ass and quite frankly, he didn't want to leave her alone after the night she'd had.
"Tell him to make some coffee." he replied
When Bucky carried Ana off the elevator, she was still singing to herself and giggling maniacally.
"Well, someone's chipper tonight." Tony remarked with a smirk. He'd brought Pepper with him, who gave him a disapproving look for his comment.
"She's drunk." Bucky stated, placing Ana on the couch, and helping her sit up long enough to sip from a mug of fresh coffee.
"I take it dinner didn't go well." Pepper guessed, to which Bucky nodded.
Pepper took Bucky's place, forcing Ana to drink a mug of coffee (not a difficult task, really), and then helped her upstairs to bed. Tony and Bucky sat at the kitchen table.
"So, Pepper has been working all day to get this media spill cleaned up. However, the footage seemed to have caught the attention of some people who might try and expose it in a negative way."
"Ross." Bucky spat.
"Him, and a few other shady lowlifes. Basically, we can try and empty our pockets until they give up, or clean this up with a press conference, get the public on our side."
"Ana won't like that." Bucky stated.
"I know, and I wouldn't want her going out like this either, with all that's going on, but it may be her only hope of keeping things as normal as they can be."
Bucky let out a breath, "We're not normal; we should all just accept it at this point. But I will talk to her." He said, rising from his chair. He thanked Pepper for her help, and the three of them retreated to their own rooms. Bucky fell into his bed with the dread of the inevitably horrible conversation topic he was going to have to bring up to a very hungover Ana in the morning.