The Future Is Brighter With You (Bucky Barnes X Reader)

Chapter 9. The Sheriff

Unfortunately you had to admit, the Carnival was truly amazing. Your town had gone all out this year. Vendors from all over came and sold things from food to jewelry. The rides were bigger and better than they had ever been. Best of all, no one else had tried to speak to you. Bucky was clearly enjoying the excitement. He had pushed you to try every different fried concoction he discovered, and convinced you to ride even the scariest of machines.

You did notice however, he kept pushing his shirt sleeve down over his metal arm. At one point he thought a small child had gotten a glimpse of it as they came down from a particularly large hill. His face turned stoic and he stayed silent for the remainder of the ride. You gave him a comforting smile, but you didn't mention the incident. Slowly throughout the day he became more comfortable with being out in public, and he forgot his task of keeping his arm hidden. You had never seen Bucky smile as much as he was now. His hair was tousled in the country air as he dragged you to the fried oreo stand. Your mind was completely at ease when you were with him.

Until the Sheriff showed up.

His smile lit up the room. It was difficult for you to admit, but he was an extremely handsome man. Well built from years of the force and a casual gym membership, he had certainly outgrown his highschool body. His blond hair glittered in the sun, and his perfect teeth stared you in the face. To your surprise, you didn't feel your normal anxiety fueled dread that came with people from your childhood as he approached. Instead you just felt uncomfortable. The mood shifted completely.

"(Y/N)! You came?" He said, a hint of surprise in his voice. You gave him a small smile and looked at Bucky, who had now dropped his oreo and was giving the Sheriff a protective glare.

"Hi Mark." You said quietly. "I just wanted to get out I guess." You shrugged. Mark eyed the larger man next to you, clearly sizing him up.

"Ha, yeah. So uh..." He put a hand forward "Sheriff Mark Heath, and you are?" He raised an eyebrow. Bucky puffed out his chest slightly and enveloped Mark's hand with his own larger palm.

"Sergeant Barnes. Im staying with (Y/N) at the farm." He said gruffly. You smiled at the two men.

"He's a friend of Sam's." You explained to the Sheriff. "He needed a place to stay and hes been helping me out around the house. Mark eyed the super soldier, but nodded warmly.

"Sam eh? How's he been? Still working with those super folks?" Bucky chuckled at his phrase.

"Mostly." You said with a small smile. You felt a hand against your back suddenly and you flinched. You looked over to see Bucky holding you steadily and maintaining a grimace in the sheriff's direction.

"Ah well." Heath looked at Bucky's arm and back to yours with a puzzling look. "Well if you'll be in town anytime soon I'd love to take you out, for coffee possibly." He said with a slight smirk. He stepped closer to you and you could smell the sharp tobacco on his breath.

"Sure sometime." You said hoping to dismiss him. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his cellphone, clicking open the lock and looking back at you.

"How is next wednesday?" You shifted your weight uncomfortably and looked down at the dirt.

"Uh nope! No can do. Lots of stuff to do. Actually im busy all next week." You said with a fake frown. "How bout I just call you? Itll be easier." You lied. Heath narrowed his eyebrows before smiling.

"Same old (Y/N) from highschool! Always making excuses!" He said throwing his head back with a laugh. Suddenly, before you could move away, Heath leaned forward and took your hand in his. Bucky's hand on your back tensed and you could swear you heard him growl in protest. "I really would like to see you (Y/N). Let me make you dinner one night." He said in a demanding tone. Finally you stepped back and gently took your hand back.

"Maybe someday Mark." You said sternly. "If you dont mind we would like to get back to our day." You gestured towards the fair. Bucky nodded next to you.

"We were going to ride the spinning cups right (Y/N)?" Bucky piped up. He remained his gaze on Heath but angled his head towards you. You nodded.

"Yep. Gotta go! Nice to see you Mark!" Bucky began pulling you away but Heath grabbed your arm.

"Why don't i join you? It's been so long since i've been to the fair with you." He said with a persistent smile. You shook your head and opened your mouth to protest, but before you could Bucky moved in front of you and removed Heath's hand from your forearm.

"Three is company Bud." He said. This time you could definitely hear the growl in his voice. "Why don't you ankle somewhere and let us be, square?" Heath raised an eyebrow, but before he could counter you grabbed Bucky's arm and hurried away. When you both were out of sight of the sheriff you turned to Bucky.

"Okay three things." You began. "Ankle? Square? And why were you so tense back there?" You asked with a smile. Bucky gave you a half smile.
"Walk. Okay. and he reminded me a lot of someone Steve and I grew up with." He admitted.

"Really? How so?" You asked curiously. He shifted his weight and scratched the back of his neck.

"His name was Donny, he used to rough Steve up a bit before school every once in a while, at least he used to before I found out." He sighed. "When we were freshman he got kicked out of school for uh," He paused and looked at the ground. "Messing up a gal real bad."

"He beat her up?" You asked in shock. Bucky shook his head.

"No, well yes but he also uh. Did some stuff to her without her permission." Your eyes widened.

"Oh wow. Does The Sheriff look like him or something?" You asked gesturing to the area where Heath was.

"No." Bucky admitted. "Not at all actually. Donny was overweight and a ginger." He shrugged. "I guess it was just a bad vibe they share." Bucky fiddled with the button on his shirt absentmindedly. "Why don't we get to the cups huh?" He asked changing the subject.

You followed him but your mind was still on the sheriff. Because although Bucky didn't explain his feelings well, you knew that you had gotten that same vibe from Mark Heath before as well.