Protect My Heart (Bodyguard AU)

Part 2

Screams. That's all you can hear. There's screams. A rush of people. The echoes of gunshots. You're on the floor. People piled on top of you. Someone pulls you up. Steve?

"Are you okay?" There's another pop of the gun and Steve's on the ground. A bullet to his head. You look up and see a man wearing a black ski mask looking at you. His gun is pointed right at your heart. He pulls the trigger.

You jolted awake with a gasp. Your body feels sticky with sweat and your heart is hammering in your chest. You slowly sat up, panting, trying to even out your breathing.

"It was just a dream. You're okay," you whispered to yourself. You glanced at your clock on your bedside table. It's nearing 4 in the morning and you groan. It's so early, but you're so shaken you don't think you could go back to sleep any time soon.

You kicked your blankets off you and slid out of bed. You picked up your nearest hoodie from your desk chair and pulled it over your head. You slid on your slippers and shuffled your way to your bedroom door, carefully pulling it open so it doesn't make a sound.

Nat and Bucky were staying in your guest bedrooms while Sam and Hope stayed in a hotel nearby. Safety precautions and you felt a bit suffocated having four bodyguards staying at your place.

Anyway.

You slowly made your way downstairs to the kitchen. You rubbed the sleep from your eyes, not noticing that one of your "guests" was awake and sitting on the couch.

You pulled a glass cup from your cabinet filling it with milk and then setting it in the microwave to heat up.

"Hey," you gasped, hearing the other voice. You spun around to see Bucky. He was dressed in a white shirt and grey sweatpants. His chestnut locks no longer in his bun that he usually fashioned. He held his hands up, "Sorry, didn't mean to spook ya."

You sighed, turning back to the microwave, "It's fine."

"What're you doin' up?"

"Nightmare," you mumbled. You glanced over your shoulder, asking him the same question.

"Same."

"From when you were in the army?" you asked. Bucky stared at you with silence and you immediately apologized, "Sorry. I didn't-Steve gave me all of your guys' files and-"

He shook his head, "It's fine, but yeah. The war. PTSD and all that. I don't get 'em often. Not anymore, that is. Just once in a while they'll just...."

"Appear," you finished his sentence and he nodded. Your microwave beeped, signalling that your milk was ready. So you pulled it out, already relaxing under the warmth of the cup, "Want one? When I was little, my mom always made me a warm cup of milk when I had a nightmare. It always helped."

Bucky shrugged, "Sure. Why not?"

You pulled out another glass, poured milk into it, then set it in the microwave to heat up. You turned back to Bucky and spoke up, "So do you this a lot?"

"Do what?"

"Work security for celebrities who've almost been killed?" you asked nonchalantly, a hint of humor.

"No. The others and I usually protect political figures around the world."

"So what made me different?" you asked curiously.

"Steve's a friend of ours. Before working as a manager, he was one of us. He actually served with Sam and I. Then we all ended up working for Stark's security firm. Eventually he got tired of it. Wanted out. Found his way with a managing company. Now here we are."

His answer didn't settle with you well. It seemed like he was only doing this as a favor to Steve, not because they cared about your safety and well-being.

As if hearing your thoughts, Bucky spoke up again, "Also, what you've gone through is some serious shit. Steve knows that Stark's company is the best security firm out there and knows he can trust us. Steve cares about you, Y/N, and so do we." Okay. That's better.

You nodded, "Thanks, Bucky." the microwave beeped again and you grabbed the cup, handing it over to Bucky. You held your own glass up, "Here's to...getting to know one another."

"Cheers," Bucky mumbled, clinking his glass with yours and taking a gulp of the warm milk. He hummed, "Wow. I haven't had a glass of warm milk in forever."

You chuckled, "How unfortunate. This is my comfort drink."

Bucky cocked a brow at you, "Really? You seem like the type of person where wine or vodka would be your comfort drink."

You shook your head, "Nope! A glass of warm milk all the way. It's warm and it's good for you and it reminds me of simpler times. Alcohol just makes me very giggly and sleepy and eventually, makes me hate myself the next day."

Bucky smirked, "Understandable."

______________________________

The next morning, Bucky is woken up by Nat clearing her throat. He looked up at her with groggy eyes and mumbled, "What?" she nodded to your sleeping form, that's nestled in the crook of his arm. He sighed, "She had a nightmare, Nat. Nothin' happened."

She shrugged, "I didnt say anything happened."

Bucky scoffed, "But you were thinking something did."

She smirked, "Maybe so. Anyway, what's on the agenda for today?"

Bucky slowly pulled away from you, lowering you onto the couch. After he pulls a blanket over you, he leads Nat to the kitchen, "I was gonna let her sleep in for a little bit. We stayed up for a few hours just talking. Getting her mind off the nightmare. So I guess in the meantime we'll just do perimeter checks. Contact headquarters to see if they've spoken to FBI about any leads on the suspect."

Nat nodded, "Got it. I'll call Sam and Hope." she then walked out of the kitchen to make the calls, her voice hushed, careful not to wake you.

Bucky moved back to the living room where you were sleeping. He just stared at you, watching your peaceful face as you slept. He was sure in different circumstances, if he wasn't working to protect you, he'd ask you out sometime.

From the conversation he had with you in the early hours of the morning, he realized how passionate you were about acting. You were also very sweet, funny, beautiful, and sarcastic. He hates that you're currently going through a difficult time. No one, especially someone as sweet as you, shouldn't be going through something like this. So, Bucky vows, that he will find whoever tried to hurt you. Whatever it takes. You deserve to live without fearing for your life. And Bucky hoped he'd be the one to help achieve that.