Found ⭑ A Bucky Barnes Love Story

22 - I Love You

Hazel sat in the car, waiting for Bucky to calm down. His breathing was laboured and he was shaking like a leaf. "Hey," Hazel lay a hand on his shoulder and he shuddered. "It's just me, Buck." Her face flooded with sadness and she unbuckled her seatbelt, climbing out of the car and walking over to his side.

She swung open his door and crouched down to his level. Hazel reached a slow hand out and cupped the side of his face with a feather light touch, waiting for his eyes to fall on her. "Look at me. It's okay. I'm right here," she whispered and gently ran her fingers along his jaw and down his neck to rest on his shoulder. His gaze eventually flicked to her eyes and he sighed, letting his eyelids flutter shut as he realised what had happened.  

"Breathe, we can stay here as long as you need," Hazel hummed, removing her hand calmly from Bucky's shoulder, only for him to grab a hold of her hand and pull it back to its original position on his jaw.

"Okay, that works too," she chuckled and stroked her finger along his cheek, watching his eyes flutter shut.

The two sat in silence for a few minutes and Hazel watched Bucky's breathing slow eventually until he opened his eyes gradually and gazed intensely at her.

"Hey," she smiled.

"I don't deserve you," Bucky croaked out, his pupils blown and his lips parted slightly as his eyes flashed with admiration.

"Ditto," Hazel brushed his hair out of his face and smiled tightly before standing up and closing his door to return to her side of the car.

She slid into the car seat and buckled in her seatbelt before catching Bucky staring at her from the other side of the vehicle. She ignored him for several seconds until his stare became too intense to ignore, the harsh gaze burning holes in her head, "what?" She snapped her head around and tilted her jaw to the side.

"Nothing," Bucky whispered, wanting so badly to tell her how she had changed his life. He wanted to open his heart up to her, he wanted to say all the words he never could, but even he knew that wasn't going to happen any time soon. Right now, he just needed to avoid the man in the iron suit.

Hazel gripped the steering wheel and moved her hands along the leather, knuckles white with tension as vicious thoughts began to invade her.

"I'm gonna take us back okay," she spoke quickly and started the car, swiftly driving off.

The drive was painfully silent. All Bucky wanted to do was talk to Hazel, but the tension between them was so thick that it could be cut with a knife. Hazel had her own demons that she'd been battling with for years. Ever since her mum passed away, she'd felt like a piece of her was missing. Sure, Ally had helped to numb the pain and mask the grief Hazel felt, but she wasn't her missing piece. It pained Hazel to think that, and she felt a wave of guilt even putting the words together in her head.

Ally isn't your missing piece.

10 minutes later, the pair arrived back at the apartment complex. Bucky unplugged his seatbelt and turned to Hazel, his heart dropping at the sight of her. The colour had drained from her face entirely and her hands were shaking uncontrollably on the steering wheel. Her bottom lip quivered slightly and the beautiful brown eyes that once embodied pure sunshine held a sadness that Bucky hadn't witnessed before.

"Hazel," he whispered and leaned over to her, placing an apprehensive hand on her trembling shoulder. She continued staring off into space, brown eyes lifeless and skin as pale as snow.

"Talk to me," he barely managed to get the words out. Hazel was his rock, his safety. He'd only ever seen the girl happy or rarely... sad. But this... this was different. If he didn't know any better he would've thought she was on another planet. "Can.." he croaked out and then stopped to suck in a breath, "can I do anything?" He willed himself to maintain his composure. It was so important now more than ever that he held it together.