Lost + Found [Bucky Barnes] ✓

Chapter 34

A week later, life in the safe house normalized. I continued learning Greek, only now Bucky helped by giving me lessons and chatting with me in Greek around the apartment. I'm picking it up fairly quickly, which is surprising considering the fact that the language has an entirely different alphabet, but then again - what do you expect after spending two weeks trapped inside?

Bucky's relaxed, and he's started sleeping more than two hours every day. Every once in awhile he flirts with me, giving me a glimpse of the man he was before Hydra experimented on him, and my heart leaps in my chest at the memory. A smile here, a brush of his fingers against my arm there - we're growing closer in the cramped quarters of the safehouse, and I have to admit that I like it. 

It's a different Bucky than I'm used to, different from the one Steve described, different from the one I knew back in Wakanda. It's like he's finally gotten to relax, to explore who he wants to be, and we've grown closer than I could've possibly imagined. 

I grab one of the plums Bucky picked up from the market earlier that day and bit into it, the sweet juice hitting my palate and making me smile. A trickle ran down my chin, so I wiped it off and plopped down on the wooden chair I'd dragged out to the balcony. Bucky was sleeping on the twin bed, his face more relaxed than I'd seen it in ages, and I was glad to see it. 

It's relatively quiet this afternoon, the bright sun beating down on my skin as I pick up the copy of Gone With The Wind that Bucky picked up for me earlier this week. I've never read it before, so I've been trying to pace myself to make the story last longer.

After a few minutes of reading, I lift my plum to take a bite as a strong hand lands on my shoulder.

"How are you liking it?" Bucky's voice startles me out of my silence, and I barely contain a shriek as the plum falls to the ground and I jump to my feet.

He laughs, the sound carrying through the warm wind, and my glare quickly turns to a smile as I laugh with him. His eyes crinkle at the sides, warmth reflecting in their azure depths, as his shoulders shake from the laughter.

"I'm sorry," he says between breaths, still chuckling. "I didn't mean to scare you, it's just...."

Leaning over, he shakes his head as he lifts a hand to brush a tear from the corner of his eye. His smile is still radiant, unlike anything I've ever seen on his face before, and for a moment I forget everything as I stare at it. It's like watching the sun, burning so bright that you can't see anything else. I'm blinded by it, warmed by it, drawn to it.

"You're an asshole," I say, pulling myself out of my thoughts with a shake of my head.

I can't mask my smile as Bucky replies with a wink, "Only for you, doll."

"Doll?" I lift an eyebrow, my heart beating faster as I tease him. "Are you makin' a pass at me, James Barnes?"

In one swift motion, he takes my book, placing it on the seat I jumped out of, and loops his arm around my waist to pull him flush against his chest. My pulse is racing, each beat slamming against my chest like a jackhammer, as my breath catches in my throat. A bead of sweat rolls down the back of my neck, and I swallow heavily before forcing myself to look him in the eyes.

"Well, now that depends," he murmurs, his voice rumbling through his chest. "Is it working?"

I can feel his voice vibrate through my bones as he holds me tight, the corners of his lips curled up in a smile that shoots arrows through my heart. The touch of his skin against mine is electric, and I'm hyper-aware of where his hand connects with the sliver of skin revealed between my tank top and my shorts.

Lifting his metal arm, he carefully brushes a curl away from my eyes. The motion is so careful, so sweet, that I have to bite my lip to keep myself still. I'm afraid if I move, it'll all be over. This will all be a dream, and I'll wake up on the balcony with my book open on my lap.

"I like your hair like this," he whispers, running his fingers carefully down my jawline as his gaze skims over my natural curls pulled up in a loose bun. "And I like it when you call me James."

The cool metal of his hand leaves a path of goosebumps in its wake, and I shiver from the sensation. His smile is gone, replaced with an intense, unreadable look that burns me from the inside out. My hands trail up his arms slowly, lingering over the smooth curve of every muscle, before resting on his shoulders.

"James," I say, my voice barely louder than a whisper. "I---"

A knock on the door causes us to freeze where we stand, his arm tightening around my waist while his other hand moves to grab a knife I didn't know he had hidden under his shirt. My eyes are wide as he checks over the balcony, glancing at the street below for a possible escape route, and he turns back to me. It could be nothing, given the fact that nothing seems out of the ordinary below us, but it could be Hydra.

What if they found us?

*****
AUTHOR'S NOTE

^_^