When I woke up the next morning I slowly opened one eye, immediately closing it again when I saw the bright light streaming in through the window.
UGH! What the hell! Who opened the damned curtains.
I opened one eye again and looked at the clock.
10:45
Sitting next to my clock was a glass of water and a bottle of Tylenol.
Bucky….God I love that man.
I rolled over slowly…there was a dull ache in my head that threatened to get worse. With my eyes closed, I reached a hand out to pat the bed next to me…no Bucky. I lay on my back and winced in pain, the throbbing getting worse. A cramp in the pit of my stomach brought a loud groan from me.
Damn, a hangover and PMS!
I rolled out of bed and stood up shakily…I could hear the TV on in the living room. I made my way slowly to the bathroom and turned on the shower. The hot water sliding down my body made me feel a little more human again and helped with the cramps. I stayed under the water until it started to go cold and with a sigh, shut it off and wrapped myself in a big fluffy towel. I lazily braided my wet hair and brushed my teeth before reaching under the counter for a box of tampons. I made my way out of the bathroom and over to my dresser to find comfortable clothes. Today was going to be all about the yoga pants and lounging around the house.
I grabbed the glass of water and the bottle of Tylenol Bucky had left on my side table and carried it with me to the living room. Bucky was watching TV and eating fudge out of the box when he heard me enter the room…he turned to see me enter and smiled sympathetically at me.
"Good morning, how do you feel?" he asked, grabbing the remote and muting the show he was watching.
I replied with a moan and waved my hand absentmindedly in the air. I sat the glass of water and the Tylenol on the coffee table and went and picked my purse up off the floor. I dug around inside until I found the bottle I was looking for…Extra Strength Pamprin. I carried it back with me to the couch and sat down beside Bucky. He watched me curiously as I shook two pills from each bottle and popped them in my mouth before gulping down some water. Bucky picked up the bottle of Pamprin to examine it and sat it back down quickly when he realized what it was exactly.
He looked up at me sheepishly, "Guess you're having an extra bad morning, huh?"
I grabbed a pillow and laid it in his lap before I flung my head down and then motioned for the box of chocolate, "Gimme" I demanded. He chuckled at me and picked out a small piece of candy, dropping it into my open mouth for me. I sucked on the chocolate and moaned happily as Bucky rubbed his fingers on the small of my back.
"You want to watch something?" he asked, looking down at me. I nodded my head and sat up so he could get up and pick out a movie. He popped in the second Godfather movie and then made his way in the kitchen. I could hear him moving around, opening and closing the refrigerator before returning with a plate of sliced strawberries and apples in one hand and two bottles of water in the other. He sat the plate down in front of me, "This is the only thing I could find for you to eat…I can go grocery shopping later if you want?" he added.
He is the best guy ever.
"Maybe after the movie I'll feel better and we can go together" I said smiling up at him. He sat down on the couch and put the pillow back in his lap so I could lay my head down. I picked up the plate and laid it on my stomach before grabbing a strawberry off of it and taking a bite…it was perfectly ripe and Bucky had sprinkled sugar on top of it.
"Bucky?" I asked, looking up at him.
"Hmmmm" he said as he reached for the remote.
"You're perfect, you know that right?"
"I'm far from perfect Eden" he said, a sudden serious tone in his voice.
"You're perfect for me" I said quietly, reaching for his hand.
A slow smiled spread on his face as he settled back to watch the movie. I munched on the fruit and ate chocolate as we watched. The medicine was starting to kick in, the ache in my head was gone and the cramps in my stomach had lessened. By the time the movie was over, I felt much better. I sat up and stretched, "Do you think Steve would let us borrow his car to do some grocery shopping? I want to go and stock up on everything, especially since I have a super soldier living with me now." I added, poking him in the stomach.
Bucky texted Steve and got his permission to borrow the car. I went to my bedroom and slipped on some jeans and my shoes. A sudden thought occurred to me, "Hey Bucky, remind me to call my insurance agent tomorrow. He never did call me back about my insurance claim. I need to that check from them so I can go get a new car of my own"
He nodded at me and stood up to grab my jacket out of the hall closet, "You should put this on, it's cold outside" He helped me slip into it.
"What? You don't want to take off your shirt in public again to let me borrow?" I said slyly.
He smirked back at me as he slipped the leather jacket that he wore last night on, "Well it seemed to bother you so much last time, I thought I would save you the trouble of having to beat the shit out of some women" I laughed and grabbed his hand as we walked downstairs to Steve's car.
We went to the store and bought a ridiculous amount of food…enough to keep us stocked up for a couple of weeks at least. I had enjoyed pushing the buggy around the store as he followed me. I had encouraged him to grab whatever things he liked and smiled each time he would pick up something and throw it in the buggy.
Bucky insisted on carrying everything upstairs himself while I put the food away. He made several trips up and down the stairs to retrieve everything. Then he insisted on cooking me dinner while I sat at the counter and watched him. I was impressed with the spaghetti and meat balls he had made. As we ate our dinner we chatted about what was going on the next day. It was Bucky's first day as a trainer for the new SHIELD recruits. I could tell he was a little nervous about it and I patted him reassuringly on the back, "You're going to do great Bucky. You know I was actually going to ask you if you would mind showing me a few moves" I said, glancing over at him, apprehensive about his reaction. I didn't know how he would feel about me wanting to learn a few fight moves…but with everything that had gone on with Michael I thought it might be a good idea.
Bucky grinned at me, "I was actually going to suggest that" he said, taking a bite of his meatball.
Brooke called me that night to check on me, she had been at home with a hangover all day too. She excitedly told me how Steve had dropped her off last night and carried her into her bedroom to put her to sleep. He had then insisted on sleeping on the couch overnight to make sure she was okay. She said when she woke up this morning he had left her a sweet note telling him how much fun he had the night before and how much he was looking forward to doing it again sometime. I could tell Brooke was completely smitten with him. After chatting a little more, I wished her good luck for her new job the next day.
The rest of the night was spent lounging around the house and watching the last Godfather movie. When it was over, we made our way into the bedroom and crawled into my bed, pulling the velvet blanket over us. Bucky laid on his back and raised his arm so I could snuggle up to his warm body.
My alarm went off at 7:30 the next morning and I heard Bucky groan and reach past me to turn it off. His arm went right back around my waist and he buried his face in my neck.
"Bucky" I whispered.
"NO" he said, his face still buried in my neck.
"You have to get up and get dressed. Your appointment with Dr. Peters is at 9 and then you start training the new recruits at 10." I said, rubbing my hand down his arm.
He still didn't move….I rolled out of his grasp and got out of bed, reaching down to grab the covers and tear them off of him.
He shot up instantly and pulled me back down next to him, laying kisses on my neck as I protested. "Bucky" I begged, "Please stop, you know we can't right now" I added, whimpering as his lips kept going…goose bumps formed on my arms and I shivered. He finally stopped and grinned down at me, "That's what you get for pulling the covers off woman!"
He jumped up and ran into the bathroom before I could land the punch meant for his arm. I got out of the bed again and walked over to my laptop to boot it up before making my way to the kitchen. I pulled the milk and the cereal Bucky had chosen at the grocery store yesterday and laid them out on the counter. Bucky came in the kitchen a few moments later as the first pieces of toast were ready. I handed him a plate with toast and a bowl for his cereal. Once he was done eating, he got up and put his plate and bowl in the dishwasher before leaning over and kissing me on the cheek.
"I better get going. I'll be back later, text me if you need me. I love you" he said before walking out the front door.
After checking my email, I realized I had a ton of work to do. Apparently 2 weeks off was just the right amount of time to take off. I took a quick shower and put on some fresh clothes before getting to work. I took a break around noon and decided to call the insurance agent.
Once the receptionist got him on the phone, he immediately started apologizing, "Ms. Page, I'm so sorry I haven't been in touch with you. We have ran into a few problems in regards to your claim, so it is taking a lot longer to process"
"What kind of problems?" I asked, a sickening feeling starting in my stomach.
He explained to me that the black truck had actually been stolen and the driver ran away from the scene after the accident. Finger prints had been taken from the steering wheel but as far as he knew, the police hadn't even begun processing them yet…my car accident was not a major priority for them. He insisted that as soon as he knew something, he would let me know and told me not to worry. He said everything would get sorted out and even if they never found out who the driver was that my claim would still be settled, it would just take longer.
I hung up feeling overwhelmed and looked over at the clock. I knew Bucky was probably in training but I just had to vent. I texted him everything the agent had told me and was surprised when he immediately responded back.
Bucky: So they don't know who was driving the truck that hit you? The driver just vanished?
Eden: Yeah, can you believe that? Apparently we just have to wait for the fingerprints to be processed to find out anything.
Bucky: I have to go Eden. I'll be home in a few hours. We need to talk.
Oh shit, that doesn't sound good.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I reread the message Eden had sent me about her car accident, a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach.
HYDRA could have tracked me down after the mission. They could be behind her accident. They could be out to hurt her. What am I supposed to do? If they realize she means something to me, they might kill her. If I leave her, they still might kill her. SHIT!
I let the two recruits I was working with finish their target practice and then I dismissed them. Roland came up and shook my hand before leaving. He was young, only about 22, but very bright...he was a pretty good shot with a gun but had no hand to hand combat training. Christine was 25 and a natural…she caught on very quickly as we were sparring. She was strong and had good reflexes…with the right training she would make an excellent agent. She came up to me after Roland had left, "Sergeant Barnes?" she asked.
"Yes?" I replied, quickly throwing my towel back in my duffel bag. I needed to find Steve and talk to him…I had to know if HYDRA was behind Eden's accident.
"Do you have anything to do right now? I'd like to try some of those moves again that you were showing me" she said, looking at me intently.
Wow, she's pretty dedicated.
"Not today, I'm pretty tired, you did a good job in their earlier" I responded.
She smiled wide, "Thank you sir…well if you're too tired, would you want to get some lunch…we could discuss some of those techniques"
"Maybe some other time, I need to find Captain Rogers. I'll see you tomorrow Christine" I grabbed my bag and headed to the elevator.
I heard her call back, "Sure thing, another time"
I found Steve upstairs taking to Agent Hill and I quickly pulled him aside and explained to him what Eden had told me.
"Bucky, let's not make any assumptions. We've been monitoring all HYDRA activity; there are no operatives anywhere near the city. It's highly unlikely they would concern themselves with Eden. Besides, if they wanted her dead Bucky, they would have attempted it again by now. It's been a week since her accident."
"What if it was them? I could never forgive myself if something happened to her Steve? I need to keep her safe…you know the only reason they would come after her would be to get me, they want their pet back…The Winter Soldier" I insisted.
He eyed me suspiciously, "What are you thinking of doing Bucky?"
"Whatever is necessary!"
"Bucky, what does that mean?" he asked again.
"I think I'm going to break up with her Steve. If she stays with me, she could get hurt. I was selfish to even let it go this far between us knowing that this could possibly happen."
He eyes got wide, "Bucky, no! Eden is the best thing you have going for you right now. I'm begging you to not be hasty…don't ruin things with her. Tell her what you're worried about, tell her you want to cool things down for a while, but for God sakes don't break up with her…she would be devastated. Do you want to be the cause of that?"
I'd rather her be devastated than dead.
I hesitated, "Fine, I'll tell her that I think we should cool things off for a while…we need time away from each other"
He sighed, "Bucky, you better be sure about this. Couldn't you just wait until they get the fingerprints back? I could call in some favors and get them done quicker."
"Please do that…in the meantime though, I would rather get her out of harm's way. I have to go…I told her I wanted to talk to her"
Steve patted me on the back before I left and said he hoped everything worked out. I made my way back to her apartment and saw she was already sitting on the couch waiting for me when I walked in.
She looked up anxiously when I walked in, "Bucky, what's wrong? You said you wanted to talk"
I sat on the couch across from her and told her my fears about HYDRA. She shook her head the entire time, a shocked look on her face.
"Bucky that is preposterous. It was probably just some teenagers that stole a truck and took it for a joyride." She said, reaching for my hand.
I jerked it away, trying to ignore the look of hurt on her face, "What if it wasn't? I don't want anything to happen to you Eden"
"Bucky, nothing is going to happen to me…and besides, I have you to protect me. Please stop worrying"
"No Eden" I said loudly, the fear of losing her was making me angry, "I love you but I won't let you get hurt because of me"
She had her head down, "What does that mean?"
"It means I'm going to stay at Steve's…until we know for sure. If HYDRA is after the Winter Soldier, I won't have them finding me here and possibly putting you in danger"
I hated that I was the cause of the look on her face...a single tear fell down her face, "Is it that easy for you to just walk away from me…from us?"
"Eden…."
She interrupted me before I could finish, "No Bucky, you listen to me…I knew what I was getting into before I chose to start a relationship with you. Remember? I knew about the Winter Soldier and I still chose you. I know you feel like you're doing what you have to in order to keep me safe but you're wrong and I'm really pissed off about it. So, you go ahead and run off to Steve's if you feel like that is what you need to do. I'll still be here when you realize how much of an idiot you're being"
I tried to reach out to her and grab her hand but she pulled away from me. I sat there in silence for several minutes before finally getting up and making my way to the spare bedroom to gather my duffel bag of clothes I had stored there.
When I came back out of the living room, she was still on the couch where I had left her.
You are such an asshole Barnes. NO! I'm doing this to keep her safe.
I walked over to her and put my hand on her shoulder, she looked up…her eyes were red and she had the saddest look on her face. I stuck my hand out and she finally took it….I pulled her tightly to me and she wrapped her arms around my waist. We stayed like that for several moments before I finally had to let go…I had to get out of there before I changed my mind. I picked up my duffel bag and started towards the door. I opened it and was about to step out when she called my name. When I turned around she threw her arms around my neck and pressed her lips to mine, I dropped my bag and pulled her closer, deepening the kiss. She clung to me like her life depended on it, hungrily kissing me and God help me, I kissed her back. When she finally pulled way, she whispered in my ear, "You're an asshole Barnes…but I'll still be right here when you realize it…because I love you and you're worth fighting for" She tried to fake a smile but I could see the hurt in her eyes…because of me.
I picked up my bag again and headed out the door. Without turning around to face her, I whispered, "I love you too Eden"
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Please let me know what you guys think so far. I love to read the comments. As always, thanks for reading!
Ecorley