Saving Bucky (Bucky Barnes x Reader)

Chapter 9 - Little Blue Pills

Metal clangs loudly against metal as Barnes' cell door slams shut behind you.

The echo grinds against your skull, sending a piercing jolt of pain through your screaming head and down into your neck. You sway, unsteady on your feet as Agent King notices and takes hold of your other arm.

"Woah, easy," he says, steadying you. "Are you okay?"

Although right beside you his words echo from far away. They tumble around your head in echoing waves, like daggered drips from above in an empty cave, their edges razor-sharp.

"Fine," you exhale, gritting your teeth.

"Did he hurt you?" King asks.

"No, he...he didn't. I'm fine," you say firmly, vision blurred from the tightness in your head. You push away from Agent King and stumble down the hall, one hand dragging along the cold cement wall for guidance as you try to keep yourself upright.

"Wait! Slow down," Agent King calls out, taking your and pulling you to a stop. His amber eyes find yours, shrouded in worry. "You need to go to sick bay."

"Get off me," you huff, twisting out of his grip. The contact is too much. The concern is too much. It's all just too much. But the more you try to regain control the faster you seem to lose it. You struggle to get a deep breath and your heart picks up speed as it races in your chest. A mild panic sets in. You've never had a migraine like this before, and they've never caused such disorientation.

Ignoring Agent King's protests and the shouts from the guards at the security desk, you push down the corridors and bully your way past the metal detector. It screams in protest, the edges lighting up red at the keys and pens in your pockets. Deaf to the shouts behind you, you stagger straight to the golden elevator doors beyond, passing the biometric scans. Agent King follows, shouting apologies to the guards and joining your side a moment later.

"Have you lost your mind?" he says tersely as the elevator doors open. You ignore him and step inside, but his hand catches the door as it closes. "Would you stop for one damn second?!"

"Leave me the hell alone Kentay," you snarl, heel of your palm digging into your forehead as you press the button once more. The door begins to shut, but Agent King catches it again.

"I knew cutting those cameras was a bad idea," he growls.

"Back off," you scowl, leaning forward and giving him a tough shove back, allowing the doors to begin closing once more.

"I'm alerting the director if you're going to be stubborn about this," he shouts as the doors shut.

In the quiet you let out a sigh of relief, finding a sliver of comfort in the blessed silence of the golden tube that shoots you to the top floor.

The moment the doors open you hasten to your quarters at the far end, passing by office after office, conference room after conference room. Finally, you reach the only set of residential quarters beside the director's in the Keep. You scan your palm and throw the door open as you rush to your bathroom. Still distraught and in pain, you yank open the medicine cabinet, snapping one of the hinges in the process. Desperate hands grab blindly at the transparent blue pill bottle on the top shelf. You dump the entire bottle's contents into your trembling hand, popping four in your mouth and tossing the rest aside, not caring where they land. Desperate to get your medication onboard, you drink straight from the sink, swallowing your pills with mouthfuls of cold water until your lungs scream for air and your body all but forces your lips from the spout.

Gasping for breath, water soaks the front of your blouse and trickles in streams down your neck as you clutch the edge of the sink and take deep, steadying breaths.