til forever falls apart (BWWM)

|18|

I stacked all the samples together, placing them in the quinjet fridge. "Can you make sure it's all 22?" I nodded with a sigh, "Yes, Bruce. It's all 22. I've checked twice already."

"Thank you, Y/N." He smiled at me while we walked back into the compound. "Have you ever been to Wakanda?" I asked Bruce, closing the door behind us. "No. Not yet, but I hear it's beautiful. Steve, Sam, and Bucky go almost every month."

I nodded, sitting on the stool and pulling out my phone. I was still cut off from most of the world, Stark monitoring my calls and search history. Yet, I worked my way around his system to talk to Carter.

I texted her that I was meeting King T'Challa today. Immediately, she sent back that she needs all the details of their labs and studies. I promised her I would tell her and put my phone away when voices came into the room.

"Send me a message when you guys land, okay?" Nat walked in with Steve by her side. He nodded and looked at Bruce. "Don't worry. I'll keep him safe." Bruce smiles down at his shoes before looking at Nat again. He was so in love with her it hurt to watch. She walked over to him, wrapping him in her arms and smiling. "Come back in one piece, Banner."

"I always do, ma'am." I looked away and at Bucky as he walked down the stair with my bags and his. I went to take them, but he shuffled away from me, mumbling under his breath. I sighed and followed him ou to the quinjet. "I could have helped," I muttered watching him stack our things together. "I didn't want you to."

He brushed a hand through his hair and sighed. His eyebrows furrowed before he smiled over at me.  "You're going to love it there. The most beautiful country I've ever seen." I smiled, "I'm guessing you're going to show me around?"

"Of course, Doll. I would be a terrible person If I didn't." He scratched at his arm for a moment while wincing. I moved closer to him, looking him in his eyes. "Can you lift your shirt?"

"As much as I love the idea of having sex on the quinjet, right now isn't the time." I glared at him. He nodded and lifted his shirt over his metal arm. The skin was very red and irritated, clearly from scratches. Most of them look old and bruised, while there were new ones. I raised my hand to the shoulder, but Bucky grabbed it, looking at me intensely. After a moment, he let my hand go. I settled between his legs. I reached down beside him, grabbed a MED kit, and began treating the scars.

"This is gonna sting." I mumbled and wiped rudding alcohol on his shoulder. He groaned and bowed his head. He sighed and looked back at what I was doing. "I do it in my sleep."

"You don't have to tell me." I wiped the cuts again and placed some ointment on them. "I want to. It's always this dream where I feel the need to claw this thing off me. Even though I can take it off, it doesn't feel like I can. This arm is who I am."

I pulled away and placed the things back in the box. "I've read your file. I know what you used to do," I placed his shirt back on. "What they made you do. You and whoever you were back then are 2 different people. So, this arm doesn't define who you are. Your actions do, and the way I see it: you're a good person. Great even."

He nodded, smiling. "Yeah, I guess." I rolled my eyes. "Did you act like a dumb ass back then too?" Bucky glanced up at me and humped his shoulders. "You liked me either way." I leaned in and kiss his lips suddenly, after seeing him smile. I sat back on my knees.

Then, Bucky grabbed my cheeks and pulled me back up for a kiss. His lips were warm and soft, almost silken, and pillowy against my own. I could feel the soft tickle of his breath beneath my nose, fingers carding through my hair. Something warm in my stomach blossomed while he continued to move his mouth over mine. Butterflies may be or whatever it was that sent shivers up your spine in a good way.