Chapter Five: bad guy
Donatella had the worst dream of her life. It was pure torture, all bronzed skin and smooth muscle moving above her, glinting, teasing blue eyes peeking out behind that dark fringe. She pleaded for more, felt that torturous heat between her thighs, the cool metal burning her heated flesh… she woke up feeling properly screwed, and not in a good way.
After a failed attempt to work out her frustration in an icy cold shower, she braided her hair back before getting her packing done. She took a backpack and filled it with sensible clothing and toiletries, throwing a handful of bras, underwear, and socks into the black jansport. Jeans, leggings, sweaters, and t-shirts took up the bulk of things, and with a small amount of room leftover she managed to squeeze in her makeup bag. Impressed with her own packing skills, she left her room in a rush, neglecting to realize just who she'd be meeting in her living room.
Bucky lounged on the couch, the perfect picture of casual in his black baseball cap and dark hoodie, his new jacket draped over one of his arms. His lips lifted in a lazy smile when she appeared, and he took his time stretching before sitting up.
"I have a bag packed with food so hopefully we won't have to stop on the way. How long did you say it'd take to get there?" he asked, getting on his feet and shrugging his jacket on. She zipped up her parka before replying.
"Two hours max, depends on the traffic. I already called Janita, she has our rooms ready and she prepped dinner for the next few nights. We won't have to leave while we're there, and I gave her the next few days off while we'll be there." she explained as he strode towards the door. He picked up his backpack and an extra duffel bag, waiting for her to slip her boots on before opening the door. He led the way to the elevator this time, jabbing the button forcefully. His metal fingers… she shuddered, forcing the images from her dream back into the deep recesses of her mind.
They walked in silence to the car, a few fat flakes of snow drifting down around them. Donatella popped the trunk and she and Bucky flung their things inside. She slid behind the wheel as he shut the trunk and he took his place in the passenger side seat. She fiddled with the radio, finding a station she liked before pulling out of the lot and onto the busy streets of New York. After around twenty minutes of being on the road, Bucky gently moved his hand towards the radio and switched the station. She watched him do it a few more times before he huffed in frustration.
"What are you looking for?" She asked cautiously and he twisted the knob furiously.
"Anything good." He muttered, settling on college rock for a few minutes before twisting the knob again.
"What kind of music do you like?" She asked.
"I don't know." Was his reply. She pursed her lips, swatting his hand away before trying a station she liked. He switched it again, and she tried another. This one he left on.
"So you're a fan of Sinatra?" She asked. He shrugged.
"It sounds nice." He replied. They were quiet again after that, save for Bucky fiddling with the volume every few minutes. He'd turn up a song he liked, and lowered it every time there was something he wasn't too keen on. She tried to point out a few landmarks to him, but he didn't seem very interested. Eventually he closed his eyes, leaning over the center console on his elbow. His breathing evened as his head slumped onto the seat behind him, and she smiled softly to herself.
How cute, taking a little catnap. She switched the radio to something a bit more upbeat to keep herself awake, but turned the volume down to try and help him rest. After an hour on the road, she reached into the food bag behind her and grabbed a granola bar, eating to help cure her boredom. Bucky slept soundly, and she debated waking him as they got closer to her house. She decided against it, and when she finally approached the gates she grinned and waved at the familiar gatekeeper. He recognized her car and plates and let her through without stopping her, and she rolled up to her family home, stopping outside the security fence and pressing the passcode that would allow them entry. She drove in as the gate ratcheted open, and Bucky's eyes snapped open at the sound.
"Where are we?" he mumbled, rubbing the sleep from those baby blues as he peered at the road ahead of them.
"We're coming up the driveway." she replied quietly, and his brows came down into a furrow again. She could see why he'd be confused, since you couldn't exactly see the full house from the road they were currently on. Trees blocked some of the home, and you couldn't see it until you made it to the garage. But it was huge. She wondered what Bucky thought of it. It was practically a mansion, her parents had been loaded before they even became famous scientists, their very old money causing them to buy an outrageously expensive house in New York.
"This…" Bucky leaned forward, an annoyed look on his face. "This is your house." he peered up at the stone building.
"Mi casa es su casa." she joked, pulling up to the garage and parking inside. "My parents weren't understated about anything." she explained, hopping out of the car and moaning in relief as the feeling returned to her legs in the warm air. Bucky was already at the trunk with the bags by the time she finished kicking her legs out, stretching out the soreness. "Here, we can go in through the garage door." she led him towards a rich wooden door frame with a gold handle and yanked it open, smiling at the warm air that hit her. "Sorry, this section of the house is really warm from the sauna."
"Sauna?" he echoed, following her motions as she toed her shoes off in the marble mudroom. She motioned towards a wood paneled doorway with a shrug.
"It's really nice to sit in there. Good for your skin and for detoxing after a long night of drinking." she shrugged and moved towards the main hall. "Okay, these areas over here are off limits. Only Janita goes in there to clean and freshen things up." she pointed to a darkened hallway.
"What's down there?" Bucky asked, glancing down the hall. Don paused, her lips turning down at the corners.
"They're my parent's offices, and my old playroom." she revealed flatly. "I don't have a use for them so I don't go to that section of the house." Bucky winced as she continued on her impromptu tour. "Here's the kitchen, everything is kinda crazy high-tech in there so be careful, oh and watch out for the magnet on the electric can opener, I don't know if it would stick to you or not." she gestured to the stainless steel appliance in the corner.
"Why do you need that?" he raised his eyebrows. She shrugged before leading him through a swinging doorway.
"Dining room, I don't usually eat in here though." she waved at the pristine mahogany table, with high-backed regal looking chairs surrounding it. A large crystal chandelier dangled above it and she grimaced. "I hate that stupid thing, but Janita won't get it taken down. She thinks it's pretty." Don motioned for Bucky to follow her through another doorway. "This is the cigar-room, my dad used it a lot but now it just stinks like old smoke so I don't usually come in here unless I'm using the bar." she pointed to a full wall of liquor, with a soda-gun, tumblers, snifters, shot glasses, everything.
"That seems a bit excessive." Bucky mentioned as she moved back into the dining room and out the other side.
"My family was excessive. This is the main entryway, another gaudy chandelier of course." she stopped in the middle of the room, pristine white with dark wood accents and a spiraling staircase leading up to the second floor. "The library is on that side, we can go in there later. Oh, and the main living room is over there too." she pointed to each respective door. "Living area is upstairs." she motioned for him to follow her, and showed her to the bedroom she'd picked for him, and then told him where her room was. "You have a bathroom in your room, but there's another living room up here with a TV and stuff. It's at the end of this hall, the other side has the storage room." she pointed out. He nodded to her, mumbling a quick thanks before she disappeared to go to her own room.
Donatella sighed as she entered her bedroom. It was plain, white, with small accents of color, but it didn't feel homely. Nothing here felt like home. She jolted as she realized that her cramped dorm with Bucky felt more comfortable than the place she grew up in. When had that happened? When had she become so dependent on his presence? It wasn't right. She shouldn't feel like this, he was a criminal on the run and she was a college student for Christ's sake. Shaking her head, she reached out to turn on her gas fireplace, slumping into her extremely outdated chaise and flipping on the television. She glanced at her balcony doors, shivering at the snow-covered landscape. What a nice, warm spring break.
She passed out pretty quickly, and of course the dreams started again. Bucky's warm hand trailing up her thigh, the cold metal one mimicking the action on the other side. His scorching hot lips and tongue over her flesh, his rough stubble scratching her, his hard muscles rippling under his skin… she jolted awake with a gasp, thighs squeezed together and heart pounding a mile a minute. She screamed out a frustrated groan and marched over to her balcony, stepping out into the snow to cool down. She let out a string of curses in Italian, falling back into her first language easily.
"What's wrong?" she heard off to the side and screamed, whirling to see Bucky standing on his own balcony just next door. Heat flared through her body again at the sight of him, and she groaned, leaning onto the icy railing.
"Nothing's wrong." she muttered, and he sighed. She heard a soft thump and screamed when he touched her shoulder, not realizing he'd somehow vaulted the distance between the balconies.
"Sorry." he muttered, and she relaxed quickly.
"How the hell did you get over here so fast?" she asked, and he raised an eyebrow. "Right, super soldier." she muttered, turning back to look out at the snowscape.
"Tell me what's going on." his voice softened again, placing his hand over hers on the ice covered railing. She looked down at the ground before turning to look at him.
"What am I doing?" she blurted out. "I brought you here to help keep you safe, but I don't even know what's going on. I'm an accomplice now, I've been harboring a criminal, and now I brought you here. I hate it here, I haven't been here in almost seven months. So why the hell do I feel responsible for what happens to you? Why am I protecting you?" she searched his eyes for an answer, but he seemed just as confused as she was. "I could call the cops at any moment and they'd come and take you away from me. Why can't I do that? Why won't I?" his hand slid off of hers as his mouth opened to answer, but nothing came out. He shook his head and took a step back.
"We're friends." he whispered, his mask slipping from his face to reveal raw emotion. "I… friends want to protect each other." she pressed her lips together tightly, shivering in the cold air. He gave a concerned look at her bare arms and tried to herd her towards the door, but she stopped him.
"You had no one when I found you. I don't really have anyone either." she placed her hand on his covered metal arm, the cold seeping into her fingers from under the fabric. "I think now… we need each other. I can't let you do this alone."
"So, what, are you just going to let me live on your couch forever?" he demanded, shaking his head. "What comes next? You can't throw away your life for this." his voice shook with the effort of keeping his words calm.
"I won't leave anything behind. But I'm not going to leave you behind either." she frowned. "I can't abandon you with nothing. If I can put you up for a few months, or even bail you out-"
"Bail me out? You can't bail out a murderer, Donatella." he growled. "It's either I go off the grid, or I go to jail."
"You deserve a second chance!" she shouted, rubbing the goosebumps on her arms. "I read all about SHIELD that first night. I read all about you. They have the information, hell, one of their own had a past just as bad as yours, and she works for them now, nobody can even touch her. You didn't have a choice, Buck, that wasn't you." she snarled, whirling around.
"You've known me less than a week. How the hell do you know who I am?" his voice had turned cold, and her blood turned to ice. He had never spoken to her with that inflection. He was so hot and cold, hadn't he just said they were friends?
"You're right. I don't know who you are." she felt the fight drain out of her as tears pricked her eyes. "If you want to go, then just get out-" she was cut off as he threw his metal arm around her waist, yanking her off her feet and behind the wall of the balcony. The solid stone prevented her from seeing below them.
"Someone's coming up the driveway." he breathed quietly in her ear. "I don't know if they saw us."
"What kind of car was it?" she whispered, fear clutching her heart in a vice-like grip.
"It was a blue van. There was one person in it, but I didn't see anything else." his fingers tightened around her waist.
"It's Janita." she sighed in relief, prying herself from his arms and peering over the edge of the wall. The old woman had climbed out of her car and was pulling something from the backseat. "I'll go see why she's here, I asked her not to come." she left him, sitting on the ground. She made her way through her delectably warm room, but her heart still felt cold. Her slippers muffled her footsteps as she made her way down the stairs, meeting Janita at the front door.
"Oh, my Donnie!" she cooed in italian. "I have missed you, you have not come home in so long!"
"Janita, what are you doing here?" Donatella greeted warmly, coming forward to meet her embrace. The old italian woman pinched her cheek, muttering something about being too skinny before waltzing into the kitchen.
"I brought you a surprise, your favorite!" her housekeeper brandishing a bakery box. "Zeppole!" all of the breath whooshed from her lungs as she eyed the treats. Of course she'd remember. "You were not here for your birthday, so I brought your gift here now. Come, sit, where is your houseguest?" Donatella turned as she ushered her onto a stool. She saw a shadow pass the doorway and figured Bucky was going to be watching the whole exchange from a distance. She wasn't sure if he understood them, since they weren't speaking English, but she figured he didn't need to know everything.
"Oh, probably sleeping." she replied meekly as Janita plated a zeppole for her. She smiled, still warm. Donatella took a large bite of the pastry, nearly moaning at how good it was. She hadn't had her favorite dessert in ages, and she really wished she could have it more.
"Here, your gift, little mouse." she gave her a box, addressing her endearingly. The woman was like a mother to Don, having raised her since she was a baby. She pulled the box over to herself, wrapped in pink paper with a shiny gold bow on top. "Your favorite color." she grinned, pointing to the paper.
"You remembered." she felt her eyes fill again as she fingered the seam.
"Open it!" Janita scolded, and Donatella's spine straightened as she peeled open her gift. Lifting the top off the box, she frowned at the obvious jewelry box. It was obviously from Tiffany's, and she looked up, alarmed.
"Janita, how did you…?" she grasped the lid, scared to open it. This would have been expensive. "You don't need to spend so much of your salary on me, this is too much." she shook her head.
"Little mouse, I wanted to. It is an important year for you, and I want you to have a good gift this year. Think of it from me and your parents." she patted her hand with her own wrinkled one. Janita's hand was bare, as it had been for the past few years. Her grandson had asked to use her wedding ring to propose to his girlfriend, and Janita had been happy to hand off her ring. Donatella smiled as she recalled the day that Janita had told her of her grandson's engagement. She pursed her lips in excitement, preparing to open the box. When she slipped it open, her breath caught.
"Oh, my god." she gasped. "Janita, it's just like-"
"Your mother's." she smiled sadly. When Donatella was younger, she'd play in her mother's jewelry box, pretending she was a princess. Her necklace of choice was a pink sapphire in the shape of a heart. "Small, yet beautiful, just like my little mouse." Janita pinched her cheek. Her mother would always scold her for touching things without asking, but Janita oohed and awwed every time Donatella dressed up.
"You used to say that to me. Every time I wore it." Donatella choked out, admiring the gem in the light.
"It's true, my little mouse." she grinned, patting her hand again. "You are my only daughter, you know this." Janita had one son who left the house before she'd even started working for Donatella's family. Even though she was only meant to be a housekeeper, she'd doubled as a nanny, and then mother after her parents disappeared. She became her legal guardian in order to keep her from going into the foster care system, and ever since then she was her mother.
"Thank you so much." she smiled as she clasped the white-gold chain around her neck. "It's beautiful." the original necklace had gone missing with her parents, as well as some of their research and a few other things. Having such a nostalgic piece was wonderful.
"I know you've got a lot to study for, so I'll be on my way. I have to go home and babysit tonight, my grandson is letting me have my great-grandbaby for the night." Janita smiled, standing from her stool.
"Have a good night, Janita." she called out as she left. She waited until she heard the car outside start and drive off before searching out Bucky, planning on making something to eat. "Bucky, are you hungry?" she called out, leaving the kitchen to check on his location. She frowned, he wasn't on the main level. "Buck?" she called up the staircase.
Oh no.
She'd told him to leave, and he had. He was gone. She felt herself begin to panic. She rushed to his room, not seeing him. She checked her bedroom.
Nothing.
She called out for him again, but there was nothing. As she flew down the staircase she froze, glancing at the hallway that she'd dubbed off limits.
A light was on. It taunted her, eerie in the quiet house. She slowly crept down the hallway, her heart leaping into her throat. The light was in her dad's office. Memories crept up on her, darkening her thoughts, and she pushed them back. Why the hell had he gone in there? Was he trying to torture her? It didn't make sense.
"Bucky?" she whispered hoarsely, slowly pushing the door open to peek inside the office. He was standing in front of their family portrait that hung over the desk, absolutely still. His shoulders weren't even moving. "What the hell are you doing?" her voice gained volume, angry that he'd been snooping around her parents things, the ones who had abandoned her. In the blink of an eye she was pressed against the wall, pinned by his arms much in the same way they shoved her the first night they'd met.
"Who the hell are you?" he snarled, shoving her hard.
"W-what are you doing?" she sputtered, trying to shove back against him.
"You're HYDRA, aren't you?" he sneered, his body crushing against hers.
"I'm Donatella, what the fuck are you on, glue?!" she shrieked, pushing even harder to attempt to get him off of her.
"Are those your parents?" he shouted, pointing to the portrait. Her mom and dad stood stoically on either side of her, and she was smiling in between in a pretty pink dress. She was six when it had been done.
"Yes!" she cried out when he twisted her arm. He loosened his grip so he was no longer hurting her. "Why do you care about my parents?!"
"They worked on me." he snarled, rage glinting in those blue eyes. She felt her breath whoosh out all at once.
"What?" she was confused. Her parents had worked on him? They were…
Doctors. Scientists. Experts in bioengineering and advanced prosthetics. Who worked for a German company with ties to the government.
"Shit. Shit, Bucky, holy shit." she felt herself begin to panic.
"What?" he leaned off of her a bit, confusion flashing across his face.
"They-they were… they were…" she looked at his arm, where she knew there was scar tissue covering where the flesh met metal. "Monsters." she whispered. He completely let go of her, and she slumped to the ground, rocking back and forth as she clutched at her chest, trying to breathe.
"You didn't know?" he demanded, crouching down next to her. She felt sick. She felt like she could throw up all over his shoes.
"Bucky, I swear I didn't…" she gasped, trying to get enough air. She couldn't fucking breathe. "They worked for HYDRA. They said they worked for a German engineering company, it had to be HYDRA." she laughed hysterically, and his eyes widened.
"Donatella, calm down." he demanded. But she couldn't. She just found out her parents were monsters who helped to brainwash and control an innocent man. A sob ripped out of her throat.
"Why? Why did they do that to you?" she asked tearfully.
"It's okay. It's okay." he hushed her, wrapping her in the same arms he used to threaten her just moments before. But at this moment she relaxed, comforted in his hold. It took a few minutes, but she finally caught her breath again.
"Holy shit." she felt like she'd been hit by a train, her body laying against him bonelessly. "My parents were fucking Nazis, Bucky."
Happy update day you guys! Thanks so much for all of the support you've given me on this story, it really means a lot to me. I know this chapter doesn't end very happily, but this is important to the plot of the story (the entire trilogy, yes I spoiled that there are three separate parts to this story) thank you all on following me through this journey so far! Make sure you follow this story so you don't miss an update, and if you're feeling frisky, favorite and follow my page so you get notified of when my other stories go up! (after this one, of course)
As always, the next update will be in three days, so I'll see you all then!