Found ⭑ A Bucky Barnes Love Story

28 - Touché

When Hazel awoke that morning, Bucky was nowhere to be seen.

"No, no no no," she began murmuring, eyes darting around the room as she whipped the blankets off of her body. In her haste she almost tripped over her own feet, sending her heart rate skyrocketing. "It's too early for this shit." She rushed across the room, mind racing, and pushed the door open.

The sight set in front of her immediately discarded any prior fears she'd had. Bucky was situated in the kitchen, one hand on the bench and one on his hip. His chocolate hair was damp and hung loosely around his jaw, framing his defined features. Small water droplets fell in what almost looked like slow motion onto his grey singlet, leaving minuscule spots of moisture on the fabric as he fiddled with a pen absentmindedly. Hazel parted her lips as she continued to take him in.

There were so many things about him that she'd never observed until now. His piercing eyes looked bluer than ever, with a distinct and breathtaking sharpness to them that she'd never noticed before. Even the way he bit his bottom lip as he concentrated was completely and utterly gorgeous. It was almost like he'd been taken straight out of heaven and thrown into Hazel's life.

Her footing faltered, sending her onto a creaky floorboard and quickly alerting the man who stood so peacefully in front of her.

His head snapped up, eyes wide but then softening as he saw Hazel, his mouth curling up into a small smile.

"Oh hey," he set down the pen and rounded the corner of the bench, stopping about a metre away from where Hazel stood.

He cupped his hands together and brought them to his face, blowing into them quickly before scrunching up his nose and shivering. "Bit cold today," he raised his eyebrows and rocked back on his feet, watching Hazel carefully. She studied him with a curious expression.

"You okay?" He prodded, voice low and soothing.

Hazel blinked and scrunched her nose up slightly. The grief of losing Ally was still fresh and right now, talking about her feelings wasn't really at the top of her bucket list. She rubbed her arm and drew her attention away from the man in front of her. In one respect, she felt emotionless; helpless, unfeeling, and numb. But on the other hand, she burned with loss. It was a feeling so intense that it tore away at her mind. It gnawed through her soul and reached inside her with an outstretched palm, grasping her heart and ruthlessly squeezing out the golden rays until they slowed to a mere trickle, the light inside her fading. She blew out abruptly through gritted teeth and squeezed her eyes shut, nodding sharply.

"Freaking fabulous," she droned, her tone dripping with passive aggression that she hadn't planned on emitting. Bucky raised an eyebrow and took a cautious step back from her, careful to maintain his distance. Hazel bit her lip and looked up at him, suddenly feeling a wave of guilt soaking through her.

"Sorry... I, I just," she stuttered, eyes already glassy from the mix of brutal emotions running through her. Her sadness quickly subsided, turning into a chuckle as she spat out, "she can't be gone. We were just talking on the phone the other day," she shook her head and folded her arms, brown eyes widening. "You know what," she held up a finger and knitted her eyebrows together, "I'm just gonna call her," Hazel began towards Bucky's room, only managing to travel a few measly steps before she felt two strong hands, metal and flesh alike, resting firmly on her shoulders.

"Hazel."

She turned around hesitantly and met a pair of ocean blue eyes, filled with heartache. They spoke a thousand words, the words of a man who knew exactly how she felt. His gaze was consuming, boring deep into her mind and whispering the things she didn't want to hear. His heart broke for her a thousand times over. Her broken brown stare deflected his expression and refused to give in to him.