Saving Steve (Steve Rogers x Reader)

Chapter 33 - Medical, Then Kisses

"Hold still."

You wrinkle your nose in frustration at Bucky, who kneels in front of you as you sit on the couch. You feel him slide the needle through your skin once more and flinch at the sharp pain that travels all the way to your fingertips.

 "Stop moving. Or I'm going to pull it on accident and you're going to bitch at me."

"I'm not going to- OW! BUCKY!" You scowl over at Bucky, who holds the stitching needle in his fingers. You give him a frown. "That hurt!"

"I told you," he smirks. 

"That was not bitching," you grumble as Bucky ties off the final suture, looking over his handiwork. He packs up the small tin of medical supplies and walks over to the old desk, leaving you to nurse your sore elbow.

After sliding the bottom drawer closed, he walks right past you, heading towards the door to the office.

"Wait! You're...you're leaving?" you ask nervously. 

Bucky stops and turns his head to look at you, eyes narrowing as he takes in your skittish expression.

"I need sleep," he grunts, jerking his heads towards the door.

"Oh...okay," you mumble, cheeks growing warm in embarrassment as you tear your gaze from Bucky and look down at your hands. You don't want either super soldier to think of you as weak, but the truth is that after being surprised by Casey, you're a little nervous to be alone.  

"I can't sleep here."

Bucky's softened, almost apologetic tone causes you to look up from the dirt beneath your fingernails into tempered blue eyes.  His jaw tightens and a flash of regret colors his gaze.

"I'm still...I could accidentally-," Bucky lets out a frustrated sigh and closes his eyes for a moment, organizing his thoughts before looking back up at you. "I need to sleep. It's safer for you in here. Alone."

You nod, swallowing nervously as Bucky pulls open the office door. But he hesitates before stepping through, looking back at you.

"You'll be fine. Steve will be back soon. Try to get some sleep too."

You nods once more as Bucky shuts the door gently behind him. A quiet moment passes before you hear Bucky's footsteps retreat down the hall. Alone, you lean back on the couch and once more trace the ornate ceiling tiles with your eyes, hoping Steve doesn't take long. 

But he does. And the minutes creep by more slowly than you could have ever imagined.

You toss and turn, closing your eyes trying to get some sleep. After all, it is still the middle of the night. There probably aren't too many hours or darkness left before sunrise. 

But you can't bring yourself to turn off the floor lamp. And in the dull yellow glare sleep escapes you. So you try tracing the ceiling tiles once more.

Once bored with the tiles, you move to your purse, which you had set on the desk. You pull out the photo of your brother and talk to him for a while, sharing things about the last few days and wondering out loud about what's to come. Then you safely store away his smile before rummaging through all the desk drawers and file cabinets, curious as to what you might find inside from ages past. 

Beyond a couple old cartons of cigarettes and a yellowed jigsaw puzzle in a cardboard box (which takes you less than hour to put together), you find nothing of interest until you stumble across a small floor safe, cleverly concealed beneath the edge of the carpet near the desk.

"Hello," you muse. "What secrets are you hiding?"

Gently pulling the carpet back, your eyes flit to the combination dial. It lies flat in the ground, and you have no idea how to turn it. You wedge your smallest finger in the slit of space around the dial, and manage to spin it slightly. But not enough to try entering an actual combination.