Chapter 2

They had been at the house the past five days. Tomorrow Brooke would drop him off in the city, and she would keep Hydra off his tale. He asked her how she planned on doing that, and she shrugged and turned from him with a "don't worry about it."

He had found himself thawing. The asset was still deeply rooted in him, but Brooke's antics never ceased to pull a smile from him. He felt his chest crack open for this girl. She was warm and sweet and had an attitude to rival the girls back from his time.

She was not afraid of him, which he liked but thought was foolish. She randomly touched him. Elbows, shoulders, hitting her hip against his to get him out of her way in the kitchen when her hands were full.

He found himself waiting for her touches, needing to see that easy smile on her face and see her roll her eyes at him.

He had gotten fuzzy and clear memories back. He was not diluted enough to think he would get everything back all at once or at all. Brooke told him it would take time to piece together everything. He remembered bits of his old life and the trip to the museum helped fill out the general bits of what happened to him. Brooke summarized what she found in his file, nothing he didn't remember from first-hand experience.

She slapped his hand away as he itched at the bandaid she insisted he wear on his forehead.

"The wound healed already. I don't need the bandaid."

He walked into the bedroom, taking a seat at the foot of the bed; Brooke followed after him.

"Fine." She huffs, reaching out and ripping the sticky bandage from his head. "Happy?"

She held it in his face; Bucky reached up and held her wrist. Brooke's annoyed gaze dropped down to meet his; she had been anxious and moody all day it had put him on edge.

"How's it look?" He taunts her.

She moved their hands to his head, rubbing her fingertips over the completely healed skin. Bucky inhaled deeply; she had stepped forward to touch his head; he swallowed as her scent relaxed his entire body.

She smelled like Christmas back home, peppermint and cookies.

Brooke huffed, unaware of his internal struggle.

"You healed." She begrudgingly admitted, pulling away.

Bucky licked his lips, mouth having gone dry. He felt the shift in her as she took in their position. She was standing between his legs, her hand in his grasp, his nose running along her wrist.

His blue eyes look up into hers. Brooke blinked rapidly, feeling her stomach clench. After a still moment, Brooke inhaled shakily and made to pull back again.

Bucky shook his head, "Brooke."

Her eyes shot to his; this was the first time he had spoken her name. It sent heat through her body, making her flush pink.

She flattened her hand, fingers moving to push some hair back into place. Bucky's eyes fluttered closed.

They were crossing a line. Brooke knew it; it's why she tried to pull away seconds ago. Bucky had not even started to heal from the trauma of the last 70 years, something her father had helped orchestrate. He was in a vulnerable place, and she wouldn't take advantage of him like that. No matter how much heat pulled between her legs or how much she wanted to feel what it would be like to be with him.

He had been a part of her life since before she could remember, he felt like a part of her. Always had been important in her world. Just because she knew a lot about him now did not mean she knew him. Even though it felt like she did, these last few days have been peaceful. Getting to know him like you would a friend or a potential boyfriend. Bonding.

"It's getting late. We don't want to be tired for tomorrow's drive."

He hummed, images of girls slipping inside their doors after he walked them home from a date, leaving him with a kiss on the cheek.

"It's getting late.". A thrill shot up him at the familiar feeling.

He had not realized what he had been doing these last few days. Analyzing Brooke, making her laugh, and learning about her. Her leaning into his subtle touches in the kitchen as she knocked him out of the way while cooking, and him rolled his eyes and put a hand on her waist to move her out of his way.

Hovering near her when she would climb up onto the counter to get something despite his protests. He was tall enough to reach anything she needed, yet she felt compelled to get it herself.

He trusted her and had been building a friendship with her and, in such a short time, had come to find her annoying habits endearing and adorable.

He wanted her to smile at him and wanted to be the cause of her smiling.

Things he had not felt in 70 years, faint, hard-to-remember feelings.

Things he did not think he would be capable of experiencing anymore. He wanted to explore this feeling. He wanted to explore her.

Bucky got to his feet; the move should have forced Brooke to take a step back, except his hand pressed into her back, keeping her close. Bucky wanted to smile with the way her head had to fall back to look up at him. Her hand fell from his face to land on his chest.

Brooke frowned, shaking her head, "It's been a whacky couple of days and-"

He brought his hand up to cup her face; she left her excuse half

complete. "I want to kiss you."

He could smell the heat between her legs, which turned something on in him that had been dormant for decades. He's seen women over the years and worked with them to complete his missions, but never once did they make him feel like this. Like a live wire, he wanted to see her face when she came apart underneath him. He wanted to hear what she sounded like when he made her feel good.

James Bucky Barnes had not wanted something for himself for a long- long time. But he remembered wanting Brooke in a different way back then. He liked listening to her tiny voice babble and having her safely cradled between his feet. He ached for those moments of calm in a different way than he ached for her now.

This felt right.

"You are a free man now; you need to take some time to-."

He moved his face closer to hers.

Brooke squeezed her eyes closed, huffing out a sharp breath. Chest rising and falling quickly. Her hands fisted in his shirt, head shaking from side to side. His hand flexed against her lower back. She could feel his breath in hot puffs against her face.

She pressed up onto her toes, and Bucky met her halfway. She whimpered into his mouth, and he felt like he could finally breathe. He sat back down on the bed. Flesh hand pulled her against his body.

Brooke held his shoulders, climbing up on his lap.

It wasn't till his shirt was off and he had her under him on the bed breathless that Brooke realized he was only using his flesh hand. Though he was right-handed, she noticed he never used his left for anything.

Brooke sat up, forcing him to kneel. She pulled her shirt over her head, taking her bra off too. Placing both hands on his jaw she drew his mouth back to hers.

Their pants were quick to join everything else on the floor. Bucky caresses Brooke's skin, both their eyes shutting at the tantalizing feel of skin on skin. He settled between her legs, running his hand from her breast down her stomach to between her legs.

He groaned, feeling how wet she was. He slid his fingers over her and could not wait to do the same thing with his dick. He remembered nights in Brooklyn, out with girls and Steve. Some nights ended like this one, with a girl in his bed. Bucky shook his head to clear it. He did not want any of those girls intruding on this moment with her.

He watched Brooke's hips follow the motion of his hand, chasing his touch. Taking himself in his hand, Bucky rubbed his head up and down her, shuttering as his never-ending fire rapidly.

He looked into her eyes, and she gave him that beautiful smile she had blessed him with all week. He slowly pushed into her, and her breath hitched. His stomach was viciously taught as he fed her every inch, working her open until their hips met.

Bucky collapsed over her body, his forehead falling into the space between her neck and shoulder. He felt her soft hands caress his back, sliding up to rub his shoulder blades. One of her hands slid into his hair, her nail softly scratching his scalp.

Being a free man never felt so good. He lifted slightly off her, grabbed her chin and licked into her mouth. Brooke grabbed onto his bicep, rolling her lower body up into his. He grabbed onto the bedsheets, His balls tightening at the moans and whimpers falling from her lips.

He gripped her thighs, ribs, breast, and jaw. He could not stop touching her, wanting to claim every last piece of her for himself. When she came around him, he pulled out halfway to escape her vice grip on him, keeping his thrusts shallow.

When her breathing slowed slightly, and the after-shocks set in, causing her to twitch and giggle, he filled her back up.

"Feels. So. Good." She whispered into the room. Bucky groaned in agreement, attaching his lips to her neck.

He felt her tighten again, her body stiffening under him. He held her hip down on the bed; she was a squirmer. His thumb reaches out to find her clit and dragged the pad of his thumb over it in a solid, firm motion. She cried out loudly, her body curing up into him as she exploded.

Bucky dropped his forehead to hers, feeling his lower back tingle and his balls tighten.

Her forehead nodded against his. "Mmhm, mhmm, mmhmm." She told him. He dropped his hand to the bed to grab the bedding, not wanting to abuse the flesh of her thigh, turning it black and blue.

His vision went white. Brooke continued to shake and squeeze him until his hips pulled back, leaving her empty.

He dropped down on the bed next to her, chest heaving as his mind raced. Brooke closed her eyes, letting out a soft chuckle with her laboured breath. She brought her arm up over her chest, fist covering her mouth.

"Didn't miss a beat, did ya, Sargent."

He shorted at her, trying to ignore the flinch of his dick when she called him 'Sargent.' He wanted more of her.

Turning onto his side, he dropped a kiss on her bare shoulder. Brooke's head lazily rolled toward him, and he sealed his lips over hers, hand sliding over her lower stomach to grab at her hip.

Her hands were on either side of his face, pulling him back on top of her. He kissed down her stomach, leaving little licks and nips, smirking as she twitched. He settled himself between her legs. His eyebrows pulled together, and he groaned at the sight of her glistening lips. His right hand winded around her thigh to rest atop her stomach.

He opened his mouth, flattening his tongue against her and dragged his tongue up her slit. Brooke gaped, her hips pressing down into the bed. His eyes watched her from over her body, her head dropped back, and her tongue came out of her mouth, wetting her lips.

He made slow work of her, giving a couple more solid licks before sealing his mouth over her clit, giving it a sharp suck. Goose bumps rose all over her flesh, and her nipples tightened. Brooke slid her hands up over her chest, trying to relieve some of the ache building in her body. She slides her hands down her waist, her left hand lacing with his on her stomach.

His tongue was now inside her, doing wicked things. Reaching out to her left hand, she found his left one; James pulled away from her. Brooke sat on the bed so she was sitting in front of him.

"It's yours. It can do whatever you want it to do, be whatever you want it to be." She slid off the bed and onto his lap. "Touch whatever you want it to touch."

She ran her hand down the metal plates of his bicep until she arrived at his hand. Bucky had gone still beneath her. She knew she was pushing him, but she knew what his hand had done, what he probably thought about it. She wanted to wash all that blood and pain away. She took his hand and ran it up her thigh; she licked her lips as they both watched the movement.

Bringing them up her waist and to her breast, cupping him around her, she shivered. She kissed his clenched jaw, working back and forth until he started to thaw. His lips found hers, flesh hand sliding down her hip and around to her ass. Rocking her hips down into his, his dick trapped between their bodies.

Bucky felt frozen, his metal hand completely lax. Bloodied silver and sobbing, pleading voices invaded his mind. Holding his breath, Bucky waited for his hand to move on its own, waiting for the command to kill, only it never came.

They kept that slow, steady pace. Brooke kept his hand on her breast, kneading the flesh there. She smiled into his mouth, feeling his fingers flutter beneath hers. She nodded at him, arms wrapping around his neck when he fully took over.

Wrapping both arms around her, Bucky picked them up off the floor and sat them back on the bed. Brooke, still on top of him, she lifted up onto her knees, reaching down to guide him to her entrance.

With both hands on her hips, Bucky lowered her down onto him. Her head fell back. He took advantage of this position and kissed her neck. She rocked against him and built them up.

"God." He groaned out, right hand running up and down her back as they both finished.

She shook violently on top of him, body spasming. Her fingers tightened and tangled in his hair. Her body collapsed against him, spent.

When it felt like her legs would not fail her if she tried to stand, Brooke climbed off Bukcy''s lap with a kiss on his shoulder, grabbing her big cozy sweater on the way and throwing it over her head. Heading into the bathroom, she peed and cleaned herself up a little before going back to join him.

It was a little after midnight. Bucky had thrown back on his boxer briefs and was lying back on the bed.

Brooke grabbed a pair of panties from her bag, sliding them up her legs.

"Must be nice not to get cold so easily."

He smiled softly at her, "It is a perk."

She got under the covers and curled up, she was exhausted, and before she had the chance to say anything else, she was fast asleep.

Bucky stayed awake the whole night, laying in bed next to her, listening to her breathe. All the curtains were drawn, but the glow from the little bedside table lamp lit her relaxed face. Her hands were tucked under her cheek, and her bottom lip jutted out like she was pouting.

He watches over her and uses the time to think through the last few days, all that he remembered and how he was supposed to carry all this forward. He remembers Steve's words to him on the helicarrier, "I'm with you till the end of the line." "You're my friend."

When Steve had fallen into the water, Bucky remembered a colder climate and how he had been the one to fall the last time. There had been snow. Losing his arm and being tortured and experimented on turned into a weapon.

Brooke started to stir around six in the morning. Bucky turned to watch her. She rubbed her eyes like a child and huffed out a stretch.

"Morning." He said softly.

She frowns, snuggling deeper into her pillow. "Morning."

He finds a smile sliding onto his face at her antics. Clearly not a morning person. Which he had not had the chance to notice about her this last week. Because of his migraines, he had slept well into the mornings, and she was awake and moving around before him.

"We should head out of here around nine; avoid the city traffic." She told him, making a plan out loud instead of in her head.

He nodded along with her. "I'm going to go shower." He nodded again, watching her detangle herself from the blankets and stumble out of bed.

He followed her bare legs with his eyes as she grabbed clothes from her bag and exited. He listened to her fumble around in the slower, dropping something and swearing softly to herself. He smiled and lay there listening to her, imagining her all soapy. Water droplets rolled down her curves.

This house was his first taste of freedom; he did not want to lose this.

.

"I'm going to go make some waffles for the road if you wanna shower." She called to him as she skipped down the stairs.

So he did. The bathroom was still steamy from her shower, the smell of peppermint and cookies hanging in the air. He took a quick ten-minute shower. Usually, he would take almost thirty minutes, letting the water run all over him and calm his mind. He knew the more time he spent in the shower, the less time he would have with her.

Pulling on jeans, and a black T-shirt Buck made his way into the kitchen. Unsurprised to find her once again up on the counter. This time, she wasn't standing; she was sitting, eating berries from a bowl in her hands.

The waffle machine next to her. Currently cooking batter.

"What?" She asked him.

He shook his head, nothing. Nothing at all.

She held a raspberry out to him. "Want?"

Feeling the air change around him, Bucky walked forward, taking her wrist in his hand. He stepped between her legs. With his eyes on her, he lowered his mouth to her fingers, sucking them into his mouth.

Brooke straightened up, sucking an audible breath through her lips.

"Yea, that's one way to do that." She mutters.

A beeping fills the kitchen to let them know the waffles are ready. Brooke slides off the counter, forcing Bucky to take a step back; plating the finished breakfast food, she poured in more batter and dropped some fruit on top before closing the lid and setting another timer.

"You excited to see Steve?"

Bucky crossed his arms over his chest, "Not sure if excited is the right

word."

"Why? You haven't seen each other in decades."

He narrowed his eyes at her. "I beat the shit out of him last week."

Brooke shrugged, pressing her back into the counter. "Then you saved his life. No harm, no foul. I'm sure he's already over it."

Bucky shook his head, staring at her in amused horror.

The truth was the punk probably was already over it. He was excited to see Steve but mostly nervous. He was also feeling nervous about leaving this house, leaving her. Brooke said she planned to keep Hydra off his back, which left a heavy feeling in his gut. What was she planning to do?

"After you drop me off, where are you headed?"

She smirked over at him, "North."

He cocked his brow at her.

She rolled her eyes, sucking fruit juice from her thumb. "I borrowed something from Hydra that I'm going to need to return."

He clenched his jaw, gesturing for her to say more. She was going back into Hydra. Did she not tell him she ran away from Hydra at 14? Now because of him, she's back in it.

"I broke into their facility. Smiled my way past the scumbags. I needed insurance so that they wouldn't kill me. So I took some important information, wrote them an IOU and promised to have it back before the end of the month. As long as I get it back to them before next Thursday, I'm good."

Bucky shook his head; he did not like that.

"What will stop them from killing you once they get it back?"

"The fact that I'll be in New York. I'm sending the flash drive in a letter to Daniel Maginty from a mailbox a couple of states over. Once they have their information back, they won't care about me." She saw the hardened steel blue of his eyes. "It's fall; the leaves are pretty. It'll be a nice drive."

.

They were silent for most of the drive back into the city. Bucky kept sneaking glances at Brooke, and she tried to stop relaying their previous night together.

Brooke pulled over outside of Avengers Tower. She leaned over him, opening the glove box and pulling out a folded paper.

Bucky's eyebrows were up his forehead in shock. "How do you know where he's staying."

"All the Avengers are welcome to stay here when they are in town; Steve has his own apartment here." Brooke held the paper out for him to take.

"What is this?"

"A copy of the information I stole. A flash drive and some printed documents, the team will need if they are ever going to make a dent in Hydras empire."

Brooke did not let the car lapse into an awkward silence; she never liked goodbyes. She climbed from the car and walked around to Bucky's side; he jumped out to join her. Fitted with the oversized jacket and black hat pulled low over his face.

James felt goosebumps erupt over his skin; he wanted more than anything for her to come inside with him. He would protect her, keep Hydra away from her. Brooke grabbed his hand and pulled him in through the front door; Brooke told him to take a seat while she went to the security desk.

"I need to see Captain Rogers immediately; tell him I have a lead on Bucky Barnes."

The man behind the desk picked up the phone and dialled upstairs; Brooke rejoined Bucky.

"What am I supposed to say to him?" Bucky felt his heart pick up as he started to panic.

"Well, I wouldn't go with punching him in the face this time." Brooke smiled. "A simple, Hi, is a good start."

"Ma'am, Captain Rogers is on his way down." She nodded politely in thanks.

"Come on." She reached her hand out for Bucky to take; they walked together to the descending elevator.

She let go of his hand and stepped back; Bucky turned his eyes wide.

"What are you doing?"

"I have to get on the road; I have an important engagement to keep. Besides, everything you need is about to come walking out this door."

"Not everything."

Brooke smiled softly, stepping forward to hug him. She felt Bucky's nose nestle into her hair and felt his chest expand as he took a deep pull of her smell.

"Be careful." He told her, and she shrugged, pulling back from him.

"You got enough to worry about here, don't you think?"

"Maybe I want to worry about you." Brooke smiled softly at him.

"Enjoy the freedom, James. It suits you." The elevator reached level three as she turned from him.

The machine dinged as the doors opened. "Buck?" The enamoured voice of Steve Rogers.

"Hi, Steve."

Brooke smiled, seeing their embrace in the glass doors of the lobby.

"Bye, Bucky." She whispered.