AN: Thank you all for reading and reviewing! Hope you are all enjoying this story. If you get a chance…check out, The Slow Burn (steve/oc and clint/oc). It is on hiatus right now…but it's a great read- or so I've been told.
–wink-
On with the show!
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I gnawed on my lip until I could taste blood. The omniscient Winter Soldier was walking behind me, not making a freaking sound. Here I was tromping through rocks on the driveway and it was like he wasn't even there. I blew out a breath as we neared the small cabin that was reserved for workers when they had to stay. Well, it used to be Jonathan's house and we turned it into a bunkhouse for visitors. Dad didn't even call it Jonathan's anymore. He deemed it the bunkhouse slash guest house and was done with it.
"Did you enjoy your dinner?" I decided to make conversation with him. We were kind of stuck together for a while anyways. I slowed my pace so that we were walking side by side. He seemed to hesitate and then fell in beside me. I held the flashlight on the ground in front of us. I had walked this path numerous times and could probably do it in my sleep, but I was trying to keep us away from the cow patties.
"It was good."
I waited for more and nothing came. "Well, you have a small kitchen in here, but you are welcome to eat meals with us. If you'd like."
Nothing.
"Dad and I usually don't miss our breakfast or dinner together. Lunch is kind of a do it yourself thing." I gave a small laugh, "You'll learn dad is…very punctual."
"What do I call him?"
"Hm?"
"Your father. What do I call him? He said not to call him Sir."
"Oh, um, well…you can call him Frank. Mr. Riley does sound formal."
He stopped talking again when we reached the porch of the tiny cabin. He was far enough away from our house for the sake of privacy, but close enough in case something happened. We climbed the stairs of the porch and I fumbled with the keys and the flashlight for a second before Bucky took the flashlight from me and held the light out so I could see. He adjusted his duffel just slightly. I gave a small smile, "Thanks."
He simply nodded. I opened the door and flipped the light on. It was a very simple layout. Upon entering, you were automatically in the great room and dining room. The kitchen was in the far right corner. The bedroom was off to the left in another room which held the bathroom too. I walked through the house turning on a few lamps.
"Um, it's not much. The couch in here pulls out into a bed if you don't feel comfortable in the bedroom…which…..should have clean sheets on it." I flipped on the light to the bedroom, "Bedroom is here, bathroom is just right inside. Towels and stuff. I'm pretty sure there is some shampoo under the sink. Closet has hangers, extra blankets, pillows…"
I turned and he was setting his bag on the couch, surveying the area. I licked my lips and let out a sigh as I put the keys on the table, "I think there is bottles of water in the fridge…some food is in the pantry. I'd be sure to check the dates though. Tomorrow- if you want, we can get you some food to stock the cabinets and fridge."
"Okay."
Conversations with him were like conversing with a brick wall. We stood in silence for a moment and he finally moved toward the kitchen and opened the fridge. Thank my stars there was water in there. Maybe he would start trusting me now…perhaps open up and say more than two words at a time. I nodded and click my tongue, "Okay then. I'm just gonna head on back. If you need anything….you know where to find me."
I cleared my throat and frankly, the awkward feeling in my chest as I spun around toward the door. This was going to be a lot harder than Sam and Steve anticipated. He didn't want to talk, he was barely there mentally as it was.
"Olivia."
I snapped my back toward him and he was standing directly behind about less than a foot. Holy hell, guy was a friggin' ninja. He held the flashlight out to me. I shifted my eyes from him to hand as I took the light. I smiled softly, "Thank you. Sleep tight Bucky."
With that I left, the screen door to the cabin bounced and gave a hard 'whack' that stung through the night. I picked up my pace as I flipped the light on. I glanced back and he was still watching me. He quickly closed the door and I let out a breath, "Holy crap…"
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The morning didn't come easy for me. I tossed and turned all night. Dreams of a black figure lurking through the shadows haunted me. Deep sleep was constantly being interrupted as I sat straight up in bed, chest heaving, heart beating a million miles per hour, mouth dry. I even ventured to the window at one point and saw that the lights were on in the cabin still. That was at 3am.
I rubbed the back of my neck as I padded my way down the stairs at 6am. I wasn't sleeping anyways, so I just went ahead and got up, got ready for the day. Dad was still sleeping, he usually wasn't up and moving until about 7:15. He wasn't the early to bed slash early to rise farmer people talked about. I passed by the window and happened to look out. I about jumped out of my skin. Bucky was sitting on the front porch steps. He was dressed in new clothes, a gray shirt and dark jeans, his hair was back in a ponytail. A bottle of water sat beside him. He was just gazing out into nothing…well, maybe not nothing- the cows were out there.
I honestly didn't expect him here this early. I looked down at my short pink cheerleading shorts and my black tank. I chewed on my lip for a second trying to decide if I should go change or not. I shook my head and ran a hand over my brown wavy hair that was still half wet from my shower. I unlocked the front door and opened it slowly. Bucky stood up instantly, his eyes roamed over me and then he looked down as he grabbed his water. He cleared his throat, "I'm sorry. I was…I couldn't sleep. I took a walk and…"
"You want a cup of coffee?"
"Yes." He said as he climbed the stairs to the door. "I would like that."
I smiled and stepped back for him to enter. I shut the door behind him and headed toward the kitchen. I looked behind me, on my tail he was, but silent. Good grief, freaking ninja. "You don't make noise when you walk, do you?"
I gave a small laugh and he looked confused. "I've never noticed."
"We need to work on your sarcasm." I turned on the coffee pot and pulled down two mugs. He slid onto the stool at the bar and watched me move around the kitchen. "Cream? Sugar?"
"Black."
"Gotcha."
"How…how did you sleep?" The uncertainty in his voice was evident, but he was trying to make conversation. I shrugged. I didn't want him to know about my dreams. They freaked me out enough and made me nervous. I didn't want him to think I was leery of him in any way.
"I'm a toss and turn kind of girl." I leaned against the bar and crossed my arms, "How about you? Like your new digs?"
"Um…it's nice. Quiet. I'm sure that the element of surprise would be hard to achieve here."
I nodded, "That's good to know. If we had to catch a peepin' tom around here."
"You have those?" He studied me closely. I let out a small hum as I considered the possibility.
"I had an ex-boyfriend who would probably fit that profile." I shoved off of the bar and poured two cups of coffee. I handed him his cup and then turned back to mine. I enjoyed a bit of coffee with my creamer. He took a sip of the coffee and then put it back down slowly.
"Steve told me that I needed to start talking more." He said out of the blue. I slid onto the stood next to him. He tensed at first and then relaxed. His light blue eyes flickered over to me and he opened his mouth, closed it, and then opened it again, "I…I don't know what to say."
Steve didn't need to push him, but I could understand where he was coming from. "Well, what's the first thing that comes to your mind."
He looked down and then shook his head, "I don't…"
"Anything. Just say it."
"Your coffee sucks."
I felt my eyes go wide for a second as the shock set in. He looked scared for a moment and then I burst out laughing, "Oh my god….really? Oh geez…"
He smirked as his eyes roamed over my face, "The stuff we had in camp was similar."
"Oh wow. Now I'm embarrassed," I covered my face as I felt my cheeks redden.
"You should be." His smirk grew to a grin. It fit his face perfectly. For a moment, I saw Bucky Barnes, best friend of Steve Rogers. It began to slip off his face, but he just held a smirk.
"I take it back…your sarcasm if spot on." I laughed and ran a hand through my hair. I shook my head, "You aren't wrong…I can't make coffee. I try."
"How was that?"
"That's good. That's very good. I would have led with a compliment, but hey…I can work with sarcasm."
"A compliment?"
I grimaced when I took a sip of the coffee. Ugh. Well, he wasn't lying. I nodded, "Yea. Like, um, I would say…you have very nice arms. Very muscly."
Something flashed over his face quickly. His eyes drifted down to his left arm, fingers flexed, and he made a fist. Oh… I opened my mouth and shook my head, "Gosh Bucky…I'm sorry…I wasn't thinking…"
"Your eyes…your eyes are pretty. They look like emeralds."
I stilled at the compliment that he gave. He watched me for a reaction. I sat straighter and cleared my throat, "Thank you. That's very sweet."
He stood up suddenly. I jumped back in surprise and the stool wobbled. His left hand shot out and grabbed my upper arm. I gasped, not only in shock, but also pain. He grabbed a bit too hard. He jerked his hand away as if I was on fire and backed away, "I…I-I need to go."
"Oh, um, okay…where are…"
"Outside. I'm going outside!" I didn't recognize the look in his eyes, but I knew it wasn't a good one. He let out a hard breath through his nose, jerked the front door open and stomped down the stairs. He was almost a dead run. I let out the breath I'd been holding and I heard dad's footsteps on the stairs. Bucky must have woken him up.
"What's going on?"
Dad rushed into the kitchen. His eyes were frantic as he searched for a threat of some sort. I rubbed my arm absentmindedly, "Bucky…he had…a moment."
"You okay?"
I shrugged, "Just pushed a bit too early, I guess."
Dad sighed, "Well…that'd make sense. You did that with Johnny when he came back. Ya did the exact thing with Sam after Johnny was killed. Maybe give the kid more than just a day to breathe before you go all mother hen."
I just stared at my dad, mouth slightly agape, not knowing what words to use in order to form a coherent sentence. This….this right here….was the exact reason I left this town to begin with. Him. I shook my head. I was just trying to help and amazingly enough, it was going wonderful with Bucky.
I stood up and let out a frustrated sigh as I practically ran toward the stairs. "You going back to bed?"
I rolled my eyes at that. He still had it in his mind that I was a teenager with my teenager mood swings that used to lock herself in her room for hours at a time. No, now I either went to work, worked on the farm, or moved states away, "I'm going to go put on clothes…I have animals to feed."
"You coming back to make breakfast?" He called as I rounded the top of the stairs. I was almost certain he was joking, but I couldn't tell in my angered state.
I growled out, "Fix your own damn breakfast!"
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DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY MARVEL MOVIE/COMIC VERSE OR CHARACTERS. I DO, HOWEVER, OWN MY ORIGINAL CHARACTERS (NO TOUCHY).
