Found ⭑ A Bucky Barnes Love Story

7 - Awkward Introductions

He could've sat there for hours holding her nestled peacefully in his chest. Butterflies swarmed inside of him and caused every inch of his body to buzz with happiness. Bucky didn't know how he'd found someone like Hazel, but he sure as hell knew he would never let her go and that he would never make her feel any less than what she was worth.

He tilted his head down to her, lips parting slightly as he gazed in awe at her peaceful state. His heart filled with joy at the realisation that the once master assassin he was was now holding something so pure and so fragile.

He did have a soft side, whether he liked it or not.

When Hydra took him, their only objective was to create a cold hard killing machine. Something that would go to whatever lengths needed to carry out their assigned mission. They had taken away so many parts of Bucky, but the most valuable fragments of him had stayed, deep down.

Underneath all that hostility was a gentle soul, something precious and pure, he just hadn't discovered that part of himself yet.

Bucky looked down at his gloved hand that was holding Hazel, his breath hitching as the flashbacks of his innocent victims threatened to consume him once again.

Screams of children and the cries of adults begging for mercy echoed through his head, gnawing away at the tiny sliver of hope he had clung to just minutes before. He furrowed his brows and in that moment his eyes darkened, turning a deep shade of blue.

The Winter Soldier was a mass murderer, a bloodthirsty killer and a lifeless machine. The arm was a constant reminder of the blood he had on his hands.

And he didn't want to hurt Hazel. Ever.

He quickly removed his arms from around her and stood up abruptly, patting his pants to remove any dust. Hazel looked up at him flustered, rubbing her arms as she shivered, and used her hand to prop herself up as she parted her pink lips to speak.

"Bucky, talk to me." Her voice was uneasy and her eyes spoke a thousand words, begging him to rationalise.

"I'm sorry, I forgot I have somewhere to be, thanks again Hazel," Bucky spoke sharply, his voice low, startling an already panicked Hazel.

Before she could interject Bucky was gone.

***

He sprinted desperately back to his room, a flustered mess. Arms pumping frantically and beads of sweat forming at his hairline as he fought hard to keep the menacing voices inside of him at bay.

The unnerving thoughts continued eating away at him hungrily, his mind a never ending carousel of 'what if's' and regrets. He refused to let the memories consume him again, he refused to continue alienating himself.

Bucky's haste caused him to trip several times, only catching himself in the heart stopping moments right before he plummeted to the concrete floor. His laboured inhales and exhales echoed through the hallway, producing a ghostly sound that only terrified him more.

As his door finally came into sight, Bucky angled his head down and plummeted at full speed toward the dark oak, thrusting his key desperately into the lock before whipping the door open and slamming it shut behind him.

His large hands fumbled with the lock on the inside of the door until it let out a small click. At that moment he dropped his keys and placed his hands out in front of him, taking slow steps backwards towards the lounge and shaking his head, eyes full of fear.

He fell back into the lounge and wedged a pillow over his head, clamping down either side and breathing heavily into the lounge.

"Leave me alone! What do you want from me!" He let out a bloodcurdling scream into the thick fabric of the pillows. He sniffed and his voice changed to a more desperate, pleading tone.