Chapter Two: Unfold
Don tried to open her bleary eyes against the harsh sun that leaked in through the window, but all she felt like doing was just going back to bed.
"Donatella." a very deep, very sexy voice roused her from sleep. She peeked at the doorway, seeing Bucky in a pair of black sweatpants that had once belonged to Jacob and a black tank top that he had been wearing under his red henley the previous day.
"Good morning, Baltimore." she yawned, sitting up and rubbing the sand from her eyes. She pushed her hair off of her face and swung her legs over the side of the bed. She lost one of her socks while she was asleep, and she cursed, rummaging through her blankets to find it.
"We aren't in Baltimore." he cocked his head in an adorably confused way. She grinned slyly at the view. His upper physique was on full display, and his hair was mussed from sleep.
"It's a movie reference." she waved him off as she found the sock. "I didn't think you'd still be here." she yanked it on over her foot.
"I can't leave. They're still outside looking for me." he frowned, crossing his arms. She peeked between the blinds, and sure enough there was a guy in a suit and aviators.
"So that means we can't go get breakfast?" she mumbled, half joking. But then his stomach growled again. She smiled to herself, pulling away from the window. "I can run to the dining hall and pick up some food for us." she offered. His eyes tightened, the blue even more stunning in daylight.
"You shouldn't go outside while they're here." his voice sounded strained.
"They must really want you back, huh?" she murmured, raking her eyes over him again. "I can't say I blame them." she was wondering why she was so chill with the situation. Then again, she had looked up 'metal arm dude' last night and found a bunch of leaked government files about HYDRA's experiments on a man and their successful brainwashing experiment. She read about Captain America and Bucky Barnes in World War II, and how Bucky had been declared dead after falling from a train in Siberia. Apparently he got picked up on the road to hell. She didn't tell Bucky she knew all about him, she figured it might scare him off. She was surprised she wasn't scared off. But… looking at those sad puppy dog eyes, there's no way he would hurt her.
When she complained about her head hurting before she went to bed the night before, he had looked truly upset. He had apologized profusely, and explained that he couldn't let her say anything to the pizza guy in order to stay safe. Somehow, she made the decision that he was alright.
"What happens if they catch you?" she asked, genuinely curious. His expression hardened and he looked down.
"They'll wipe me again." his voice was rough, gravelly as he said it. Her heart twinged at his face. She slowly stood and walked over, but stopped a good distance in front of him.
"You can hide out here, don't worry." she smiled reassuringly. He looked a bit uncomfortable at her offer. "We don't have to be best friends, but I don't want you going back to them either." she shook her head. He nodded hesitantly at her, and she moved around him to walk into the bathroom. "I can get you a toothbrush and stuff when I go to the dining hall, there's a little store on campus." she mentioned. He nodded slowly and disappeared back towards the living room. She groaned inwardly as she shut the door behind her, brushing her teeth and washing her face. Don left the bathroom then, going back to her room to quickly put on some makeup, concealing the bags under her eyes and adding some mascara. She frowned as she combed her eyebrows, adding some pomade to make them look better, and grimaced at how dry her lips looked. She slicked on some pink gloss and got changed into some black jeans and a gray turtleneck. She looked out the window again, seeing the streets and sidewalks had been cleared of snow already, and put on a pair of black ankle boots. She sighed as she looked in the mirror, wondering who she was trying to fool. No matter what she did she ended up looking a mess. She left her room then, picking at her pale pink nail polish.
"Do you want anything in particular? They usually have pancakes, sausage, eggs, bacon…" she trailed off as she glanced at him. He had changed back into the red shirt, his dark jeans hugging his legs deliciously. His back was turned, giving her a great view of his… assets.
"Anything's fine." he replied shortly, not turning to face her. She hesitated before picking up her coat. She shoved her keys into the pocket, pulling her hood up again as she prepared to leave. "Be careful." his voice was sharp, but he was still looking out the window. "I saw someone in the sky."
….
She huffed out an annoyed breath of air as she sidestepped the agent. He had tried questioning her on her way to the dining hall, but she snapped out something about being hungover and he left her alone.
"Miss, this is a matter of national security." he tried to stop her again.
"Dude, get it through your thick skull. I'm not interested in you." she rolled her eyes, walking towards the door. He scowled, and physically stopped her that time. She flinched as his hands gripped her shoulder too tightly, his grip bruising. She wrenched herself away, stumbling over her feet.
"Why do you have food with you, who are you bringing this stuff to?" he demanded, pointing at her bags and food containers.
"How are my shopping habits any of your business?" she replied coolly.
"If you won't tell me I'll have to request backup." her nostrils flared at his threat. She narrowed her eyes and took a step towards him. He took a sly step backwards, but glared right back down at her.
"This is harassment. I don't believe you're actually the police. You haven't showed me any identification, there haven't been any school-wide announcements about your so-called matter of national security, and now you're interrupting my breakfast." she snarled. "So, unless you want me to pepper spray you and leave you out here, you'll stay the hell away from me." his face hardened. She spun away, digging for her key card and swiping herself into the building. She was angry, and a little nervous, so she took the stairs two at a time to let off some steam. Don made it to the door panting, swiping in again. "Those agents of yours are really fucking rude."
"What happened?" Bucky demanded.
"He grabbed me, that son of a bitch." she grimaced, setting her bags down and wrenching off her coat. She pulled the neck of her sweater down just enough for her to see the red marks in the shape of fingers on her pale skin.
"Are you alright?" Bucky's eyes darkened. She raised her eyebrows at him.
"Down, boy, I'll live. Barely hurts." she winced, sitting down. "Barely." she echoed. She began to pull things out of her bags, the first thing being to-go boxes with breakfast inside. Don grabbed a few plates again and set them out before opening the boxes. "Pancakes in here, this one's bacon and sausage, and there's eggs in here. I didn't know if you liked fried or scrambled so I just took some of each." she pushed the boxes to the middle of the table, and he sat across from her, giving himself insanely large portions. She raised an eyebrow, but figured that all those muscles needed serious fuel.
"What's that?" he nodded down at the other bags she had. She swallowed her bite of pancake before picking the first one up.
"I got you some stuff. I wasn't sure what you had in your knapsack, so I got some essentials." she handed him the bag with clothes. He frowned, picking up two different crewnecks.
"I figured you were a large, if they don't fit I can return them and get new ones." she mentioned. He set those on his lap before taking out a pair of jeans, and she was thankful she peeked at the measurement for those when she washed them yesterday. He picked up a brush next and gave her a look, but said nothing. Next he pulled out his toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste.
"I don't need all this stuff." he said lowly.
"You have two outfits at the moment. You think you're gonna cycle through them every other day?" she furrowed her brows. "Men." Don scoffed. He gave her a withering look. He held his hand out for the next bag, which she gave with a smirk. He pulled out a black baseball cap and sunglasses. "I thought you might like a disguise."
"For what?" he asked. She rolled her eyes and pointed out the window. He huffed, reaching into the bag again, grabbing a plain black hoodie. His face scrunched up as he looked in the bottom of the bag, and he gave her another piercing glare.
"If you only have two pairs of underwear that's gross." she pointed her fork at him before shoving a too-large bite of pancake in her mouth.
"Then don't think about my underwear." he growled.
"Angel, it's torture not to." she replied woefully before stabbing a sausage. "What are you waiting for? Eat." she gestured to his food as he watched her blankly. He ate quickly, much faster than the day previous. "When was the last time you had a whole meal?" she asked, and he just stared at her blankly before chewing slower. He gave a slight shrug. "What do you remember?" she pressed. He gave her another look.
"I remember thinking this medical college might have a doctor who could help me and then I could leave." that was the longest sentence she'd ever heard him say. She didn't know whether to be impressed or offended. But when his lips quirked up at her shocked expression, she felt heat flare through her body with his smirk.
"Did you just make a joke?" she demanded. His mouth dropped into his trademark scowl. She laughed lightly at his expression, clearing her plate and putting everything into the dishwasher. His eyes followed her as she moved through the room. She managed to clear away the trash from the table, since he'd put all the food on his plate at that point, and grabbed her backpack.
"Where are you going?" he asked.
"To my room?" she replied with a quirked eyebrow. He narrowed his eyes at her before nodding. She quietly walked from the room before dumping her backpack on the floor, sitting at her desk. Her computer was dead, so she quickly started charging it before peering down at her work in progress. She was working on an anti-seizure device that, when implanted, could hopefully stop the electrical disturbances as soon as they began. She placed the chip underneath her microscope and began soldering, praying for the best. It was hours before she left the room again. She had begun to get hungry, and figured if she could eat then Bucky was starving. When she entered the living room, he was on the couch with the remote, brows furrowed in disdain at the TV.
"This is stupid." he pointed at the show that was playing.
"You wound me! You can't hate Friends, that's literally the sitcom our great nation rests on." she flopped down into the armchair.
"It's stupid." he deadpanned, giving her one of his signature looks. She sighed, putting her feet up on the table, wiggling her monkey socks. "Why… do you have animals on your feet?" he looked truly distressed at this, and she threw her head back in laughter. Donatella couldn't stop at that point, she thought it was such a hysterical reaction. Every time she'd calm down enough to glance over at him, his 'I'm so done' face sent her back into a fit of giggles.
"Okay, I'm done now, sorry." she breathed out, pushing her hair from her face. There was a knock on the door, and she glanced at him, alarmed. His eyes were narrowed, and he frowned.
"Answer the door." he ordered.
"What if it's one of the people?" she murmured, standing slowly.
"Don't let any strangers in." he warned, getting up and moving towards the bathroom. She went up to the door and opened it slowly, blinking as her friend Karina pushed past her into the room.
"It took you long enough to answer!" she moaned.
"I was in the bathroom." she replied nervously, wringing her hands together. "You didn't text me, so I wasn't expecting anyone. I thought it might be one of those creepy dudes that have been standing outside." Karina frowned out the window, then flopped down onto the couch.
"Yeah, they're hella annoying. Anyways, did you get lunch yet?" she asked.
"Uh, n-no." Don shook her head. "I was thinking about it, though."
"Okay, we should go to Olive Garden then. I'm craving breadsticks like a mofo!" Karina complained, standing up.
"Yeah, I'll meet you downstairs in a few minutes. I left my, uh, soldering stuff on so I have to clean up before a fire starts." Donatella fibbed.
"Okay, am I driving or are you?" she asked, flipping her glossy black hair over her shoulder. She had almond shaped eyes that looked killer with winged eyeliner, and pouty red lips that made Don jealous as hell.
"I can drive." she offered.
"Donnie, I don't know who I love more, you or your mercedes." Karina blew her a kiss before waltzing out the door. Bucky appeared from the bathroom a second after the door shut.
"I guess I'm going out to lunch, you'll be okay here right?" Don asked worriedly, wringing her fingers through the ends of her hair. Bucky stared at the door for a minute before answering.
"Yeah." his voice had taken on that gravelly quality again.
"Oh, shoot, I'll order you a sub and get it dropped off at the door. I'll tip online and everything so you won't have to let anyone see you, okay?" Don pulled her shoes on and threw her coat over her clothes.
"Okay." he replied quietly.
"You're gonna be here when I get back, right?" she asked, worry tight in her throat all of a sudden. He hesitated before nodding, and her relieved smile caused a flash of surprise to cross his face. "I'll see you in a few hours."
….
Donatella came back a little bit more tipsy that she had left as. Bucky was sitting on the couch again, but was reading her thesis paper again. She stumbled a bit as she kicked her shoes off, but walked over and flopped onto the armchair.
"Weren't you driving?" he asked without lifting his eyes from the page.
"Mmm, I was gonna, but then Karina wanted to Uber instead to get me drunk." she huffed. "Did your sub work out okay?" she asked, watching as he nodded slowly, turning his page. "Karina asked me to go bar hopping with her tonight. I told her no and that I had to practice my thesis speech." he didn't reply. "Obviously I don't, I've been prepared for months." she babbled. Bucky flipped the page again. "If you're going to read my shit, you can at least talk to me." she huffed. His piercing blue eyes glanced up at her for a moment, just long enough to see his annoyance, before he looked back down.
"I'm trying to read." he replied gruffly.
"Let me know if you find any errors." she yawned, maneuvering until her legs hung over the side and her head was no longer facing him. He didn't reply, the only noise he made was flipping the page again. She swung her legs as she grabbed the remote, flipping through the channels until she hit something she liked. They sat in silence for a while, and Don peeked behind her at him.
His hair was tucked behind one of his ears, pushed back enticingly. His eyes roved over the page, and he looked fascinated. His face was relaxed, his lips slightly parted, and his shoulders rising and falling with each breath he took. The stubble on his face was dark, but sharply defined his jawline and his killer cheekbones. He had a strong brow that she found oh so sexy, especially when they were furrowed in concentration like that. Her eyes roamed down his body, taking in the gentle way his surprisingly attractive hand held the paper. His shirt was pushed up to his elbows, revealing his gorgeous forearms. He sat leaned forward with his elbows resting on his knees, the position revealing his taut thighs and thick torso nicely.
"Are you getting hungry?" she asked, and his eyes cut up to her face for a second before turning back to the page. He shrugged. She sighed, picking up her phone. "I can grubhub something."
"I don't know what that means." he replied with a look.
"I'll get food delivered." she explained. "Do you like McDonalds?" he shrugged again. "We can try that tonight. I'll get you a Big Mac, some nuggets, and a large fry. What else would you like…" she mused. "Maybe two large fries and a McDouble. That sound like enough?" she asked. He nodded. "What kind of drink do you want? Coke? Chocolate shake?" he frowned, looking up at her for a moment, then back down.
"Shake." he said.
"Man after my own heart." she sighed, fanning herself with her hand. Don opened the app and selected all the things she'd mentioned, as well as her own food. "Do you like dipping sauce?"
"I don't know."
"Okay, wow, I'll get one of each and you can try them all then. My personal favorite is either ranch, buffalo, or honey mustard. Honey mustard is great on anything though, a sandwich, some fries, cheese curds, salad…" she babbled, putting the order through. "I got a shake too, in case you were wondering. Chocolate, obviously, because those are just bellissimo. You know?" he nodded along as she talked.
"Are you from Italy?" he asked. She frowned, of course he'd ask something completely unrelated to her topic of choice.
"My parents were. They moved here when my mom got pregnant, they were both scientists and they worked for a company with prosthetics. So, that's why I'm interested in bio-engineering. In case you were wondering." she replied. He gave her another one of his looks where she had no idea what he was thinking.
"What happened to them?" he asked, those baby blues killing her inside.
"You're a curious cat." she chuckled. "Um… I don't know what happened to them." she shrugged. His eyebrows sunk down, a mixture between concerned and confused. "I feel like you don't really care to know the whole story, but when I was ten, I came home from school, and they were just both… gone." she sighed. "They were a part of the richest conglomerate in America at the time, and they had a trust fund for me that gained loads of interest over the years for me to go to college with. And that's not to mention my huge inheritance and super great nanny that had to raise me after that." she shrugged. "So, they didn't leave me on my own I guess. I'm not sure if they're still alive or not, or what ever even happened to them… The police never figured it out." Don revealed. He stared at her for a second before looking down at the page again, fiddling with the paper. He sighed as he glanced back up.
"You seem well adjusted." he mentioned. Don let out a chuckle, closing her eyes for a moment.
"It's hard to miss people who were never there in the first place." her voice wavered. His eyes cut through her again, and she swore she could feel those irises staring straight into her soul. This time when he spoke, it was directly to her.
"They probably got taken out by someone like me."
There might not be a set update schedule for the story (I rarely do one) but I'll try and publish all the chapters around every third day, it shouldn't be too hard since this story is completed! I hope you guys like how it's going so far, it took me a while to finish!