I'm still here, still chug-chug-chugging along. I should be on track to post in early March but I'm still working on this upcoming chapter so...we'll see how 'early' that remains 🙃 I haven't done WIP Wednesday in a while, but I hope you enjoy the sneak peek, and I'll see you with the full thing (hopefully) soon <3

~

The only hint I had that something was amiss came after eight, when someone knocked rapidly several times. I heard Steve’s voice sort of half-heartedly call to me, but he wasn’t loud enough that I could understand what he said. It didn’t strike me oddly at first; he was already getting his keys out, and I had my motivation to get up and stretch.

What got me first was how he stormed into the apartment. To be fair, it wasn’t for long– he caught himself before he even fully made it to the living room. But that was at least five strong steps that had made me jump and immediately try to assess the danger. But Steve just looked pissed, and Bucky slunk in behind him, crouched in on himself like a teenager in trouble.

“Hey sweetheart,” Steve said with a smile so strained it looked more like cracked glass.

“What happened?” I asked.

“I killed Stark’s parents,” Bucky muttered.

“Y-yeah…” I said. It probably wasn’t the best response to a murder confession, but we all already knew that. Right? Tony knew that. …Or was I misremembering? “Tony, he– he already knew– didn’t he already–?!”

“He knew, he knew; it just…came to a head,” Steve said and sighed.