Chapter Text
You were walking fast through the little park in front of your best friend’s house. It was pitch black and you were already an hour late. The park was exceptionally quiet, nobody was out. When your phone chimed, you slowed down a little as you fumbled through your purse to pull it out.
“Where are you?” your best friend urged.
“Peggy, I’m so sorry. Work was crazy, but I’m in the park.”
You looked up and saw her standing at her kitchen window, her eyes roamed over the dimly lit street to find you. You waved and told her to look straight ahead. She waved back, although her lips turned into an upset pout.
“You could have called.”
“Thought I was going to bail on you, didn’t ya?”
“Well, yeah,” she admitted.
You watched as the corners of her lips curled upward. She kept her eyes on you as you crossed the street to her house.
“Just hurry up, everyone’s starving.”
You snorted, glancing furtively around to make sure there was no car. You opened your mouth to retort when the screech of tyres made your head snap up.
A beam of bright yellow light blinded you as you felt your body being simultaneously pushed back and forced forward. You heard a scream and collapsed onto the ground, hitting the back of your head on the asphalt.
Two months later
Peggy and her husband, Tony, decided to rent your apartment in order to pay your hospital bills. The doctors advised Peggy to sign papers authorising permission to take you out of life support, but she simply said no. She removed things like your photos and clothes and put your apartment on the market.
Bucky followed the real estate agent into yet another apartment. Looking around, he felt like he finally found the right one. The living room was nicely decorated, although nothing extravagant. Under the bay window were arranged two sofas, a coffee table, a TV and an empty console. A table in mahogany stood near the kitchen.
The hallway led down to two rooms, a dressing and a bathroom. The view from the bay window was absolutely stunning.
“This place is great,” Bucky turned back to Pepper Potts who looked relieved. “Why is it still on the market?”
“It’s a one-to-one sublet. No one-year lease.”
“Oh,” Bucky walked over to the bay window. “Why?”
“Didn’t feel like asking, they were pretty close-mouthed about it.”
Bucky marched to the sofa and slumped down on it. He stared at the black screen of the TV for a moment. Pepper fought back a groan and pinched the bridge of her nose. He had been a pain in the ass the entire day.
He wanted an apartment that was already furnished, but he wouldn’t tell her anything about his job or his life, which made her job a lot more complicated.
“I like this one,” he suddenly said, making her gasp in surprise. “I’ll take it.”
Pepper dragged him to her office and made him sign the papers. The next day, Bucky moved his few things into your apartment. After a long, hot shower, he put a tee and his sweatpants on. He sat in front of the television with a cold beer and a bag of chips.
Three hours later, the coffee table was covered with empty beer bottles and half eaten take-out. Bucky was staring at the TV without really seeing it. With a sigh, he walked into the kitchen, grabbed another beer and returned to the living room.
“Don’t hurt me!” you shouted, raising your hands up. Bucky screamed and dropped the bottle where it smashed to the ground. “There’s nothing worth-”
“Who are you?”
“-stealing,” you finished and slowly dropped your arms to your sides, a crease formed between your brows. “Who am I? I live here!”
“No, I live here," Bucky shouted back. You stared at each other for a moment before his arms fell to his sides and he scoffed. “Okay, I see what’s going on here. It’s a scam, they rent the place to multiple people and collect the money.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” You pulled back, the frown between your brows deepened. “This is my stuff, all of it!” You gestured at the furniture in the room.
You squinted your eyes and moved closer to the table, spotting a little ring on your coffee table. Bucky watched you with a confused look on his face.
“A ring? Have you ever heard of a coaster?” You looked around and gasped at the mess. “You’re a pig and you’re leaving. Now!”
You crossed the living room and went straight to the kitchen, walking past him as he shook himself from his stupor and followed you. You kept screaming, but by the time he entered the kitchen you were gone.
“Hello?” he called out, looking around at the same time. “Crazy girl? Where are you?”
He returned to the living room and waited. When nothing else happened, he just shrugged the event off. Later that night, a knock on the front door woke him up. He dusted potato chips crumbs off his shirt and dragged himself to the front door.
“Yeah, I’m coming.”
Bucky already knew who was behind the door. Steve was his only friend. Everyone sort of disappeared after Bucky hit rock bottom, but not Steve. He knew he could always count on Steve to support him, even when he didn’t want to see anyone.
“Came here to check out your new place.” Steve gave him a toothy smile as he raised a six-pack of beer. “Congrats, man!”
He pushed past Bucky and entered the apartment. His eyes roamed over the beautiful place and the mess Bucky made in less than twenty four hours.
“Wow,” Steve commented, his eyes settled on the mountain of empty beer bottles on the coffee table. “You either had a wild night with your friends and forgot to invite me, or you had a very lonely night.”
“Next time a call would be nice,” Bucky mumbled, tossing the empty bottles into a trash can.
Steve and Bucky sat down on the sofa and talked for a long time. After his third beer with Steve, and God knows how many he had before that, Bucky loosened up enough to tell him what happened earlier.
“There was a woman in your apartment?” Steve tipped his head back and finished his beer. “Was she attractive?”
“That’s not the point.” Bucky rolled his eyes. “The point is, she just vanished into thin air” He snapped his fingers for good measure.
“Were you drunk?”
Bucky fidgeted uncomfortably on the sofa, “Yeah, I was wasted, but I’ve been drunk before and that never happened.”
“Do you sleep?”
“I do,” Bucky assured him in a confident tone before Steve raised an eyebrow at him. “Sometimes.”
“I think you’re just tired and a little on edge, which I totally understand,” Steve added quickly when Bucky started gritting his teeth. “But you gotta sleep, man. I’m sure that hot hallucination won’t bother you anymore.”
“You know, you shouldn’t have dropped out of college to become a stripper. You would have made a great shrink.”
“Exotic dancer,” Steve corrected, wagging a warning finger in Bucky’s face. “Speaking of it, I gotta go to work.” He slapped his hands on his thighs and stood up.
“Off you go, Captain America,” Bucky mocked. Steve rolled his eyes as he put his jacket on and grabbed his keys off the mahogany table.
“Take care of yourself, Buck.”
They hugged before Steve left. Bucky was standing alone in the middle of the living room and listened to the distant sound of Steve’s motorbike. He turned around and came face-to-face with you again.
“You’re still here? Get out!” you shouted.
“Get out of my apartment!” he screamed back.
“It’s my apartment!”
“No, it’s mine!”
“That’s it! I’m calling the cops!” You made your way to the console and tried to pick up the phone. You couldn’t hold it, you couldn’t even touch it. “What did you do to my phone?” You turned back to Bucky.
“Me? I didn’t do anything!” He took a step back, his hand groping behind him for the dining room table. “What the hell is going on with you?”
You walked back to him and tried to push him, but your hands went right through his shoulders. You both gasped and looked at each other with wide eyes. You tried again, but the same thing happened. He quickly rounded the table and grabbed a knife off the kitchen counter. You strutted towards him, your eyes narrowed menacingly as he brandished the knife.
“You’re threatening me? You break into MY house and YOU threaten ME? Unbelievable.” You threw your arms up in exasperation.
As your arms fell back to your sides, you noticed that you were standing in the middle of your dining room table. You were walking through it like some kind of ghost.
“You’re a fucking ghost!” Bucky shrieked before he fainted on the kitchen floor.