Part 38: Better Man

                                    

                                          
Author's Note: Angst incoming!
                          


                          
Shannon, Bucky, and Sam are in the kitchen. The microwave clock reads 1:15am. They've been sitting in silence for an hour now, none of them knowing what to say. Shannon is digging into the rest of her leftover birthday cake and drinking whiskey straight out of the bottle while Bucky paces around the room. His jaw is clenched and pulsing beneath the skin. Every time he looks over at Shannon and sees the tears brimming in her eyes, more anger seems to boil in his guts. It feels endless and it makes him sick. How can someone do this to her?
                          
"Buck, you're making me nervous," Sam says.
                          
"I can't sit down."
                          
"Well, you can't do anything right now," Shannon replies.
                          
"I know that, Shannon!" He snaps.
                          
"Hey! Don't yell at me!" She hisses angrily. Bucky stops in his tracks, muscles tense. "I'm not the one who ruined the night. Besides, you're not the one who has to shell out thousands of dollars for a lawyer now. This is what I was trying to avoid."
                          
Bucky's shoulders slump and he leans on the back of the chair.
                          
"I know." He hangs his head. "I'm sorry. I just fucking hate this guy."
                          
She reaches up and squeezes his hand.
                          
"Believe me, Buck," she sighs. "I know the feeling."
                          
She gives his hand a reassuring squeeze and looks at the clock.
                          
"I'm going to bed. I don't want to be conscious anymore."
                          
"I'll be up in a bit," Bucky promises.
                          
Shannon kisses him softly and smiles against his lips.
                          
"Don't be too late," she whispers.
                          
"I won't be. I love you."
                          
"Love you too."
                          
She not so discreetly squeezes his butt as she walks past him. Bucky chuckles and sits back down at the table across from Sam. They wait until they hear the bedroom door close. Bucky picks up Shannon's fork and stabs at the cake, shoving it into his mouth.
                          
"What's the plan?" He asks.
                          
"I say we use the week to get intel on him. Anything we can dig up that might help us or Shannon. I brought my laptop."
                          
"I want to know everything about him," Bucky replies. "Address, work, his routine - I want to know what he eats for breakfast. I want to know his friends, his family, his neighbors. All of it."
                          
"You're not killing him," Sam warns.
                          
"I didn't say that." Bucky leans back and takes a generous swig of whiskey. "But I do want to scare him into dropping both lawsuits."
                          
"He's entitled to sue for alimony, especially if Shannon makes more money than him and he was displaced by the Blip."
                          
"Okay, fair. But to say that I broke up their marriage?"
                          
"Prevented them from reconciling by intimidating him."
                          
"Whatever," Bucky scoffs. "You and I both know that's utter bullshit."
                          
"I know," Sam replies. "This asshole is unstable."
                          
Bucky's lip curls into a snarl.
                          
"I'll show him unstable."
                          
Sam stares at him and tilts his head.
                          
"You're gonna go Winter Soldier on this dude, aren't you?"