A/N: Thanks to whoever pointed out the formatting issue it should be fixed now.
Bucky was lost in thoughts about his aloof assassin crush when he stumbled over something. There was something about her cold blue eyes, the way her mouth turned up with that mocking smile, and her flaming red hair. He knew her. They were connected. Unfortunately, she didn't seem to agree. Sometimes, when she remembered everything he'd been through, she opened up just a little. She really wasn't as cold and cruel as she pretended to be. Yeah, he was hooked, way more than anyone had been on one of his songs….
Bucky stumbled again, finally breaking him out of his thoughts to see a—wait, what? Why was there a huge box in the middle of campus? Bucky kneeled down to inspect it. Finding it unsealed he opened it up and things just got weirder from there. As if he had conjured her up in his mind, Natasha lay curled up in a little ball, sleeping peacefully in the box.
What was she doing? He kind of remembered something about her going into stealth mode to follow Madam Hydra around and make sure she wasn't sabotaging the school, but that was six hours ago. Besides it was supposed to be below freezing out later tonight, she could die.
He really only had one choice. One choice that would probably get his ass kicked in the morning. Bucky reached carefully into the box and pulled Natasha out of it. Her head fell on his shoulder, her forehead pressed against his neck. God this was harder than he thought.
As he carried her to the dorm like prince charming carrying sleeping beauty, he couldn't help but wonder why she did this to herself. They had both been through hell and back, and so young. It felt like he was about to turn eighty not eighteen. Natasha closed off to everything, maybe he was too open. Despite Jan, Steve, and Tony's efforts she didn't have any close friends here. Half the other boys were in love with her but she didn't give them the time of day. The only reason she even talked to him was because of the timefog. What was in there that she wanted to understand so much? Her own past? Or maybe it was the only way she could reach out, protect the people who tried so hard to love her.
He was jarred out of his thoughts once again when he realized he couldn't take her back to her room. The girl's dorm was locked off at this time of night. He would have to take her to his own room. The Academy wasn't very strict about moralistic rules but there was a concern for safety with such unsavory characters as Crossbones and Madam Hydra on Campus. Bucky winced as he realized he too fit into that category.
So he had one option. Once again this was likely to get him an ass-whooping in the morning, but he didn't have a choice. Back to his room. Where he laid her out on his bed. He took off her leather jacket and her boots. It was kind of amazing that she was sleeping through all this. She must have been exhausted. Kind of like he was now. He curled up on the couch, passing out in only a few moments. In the morning he could deal with her anger. For now she was safe.