Lovers in Arms | Bucky Barnes

Part 11

Karol wakes up to the sun shining in through her window and landing on her face. She immediately squeezes her eyes shut after seeing this bright light. She puts her arm over her face to block out the bright light. She feels a headache throbbing in her head. Ugh, she hates this feeling. How much did I drink yesterday?

She brings her hand to the spot next to her and feels the blankets, looking for Bucky. When she lifts her head she sees that her bed is otherwise empty. She lets out a deep sigh. She really thought he was here when she went to sleep. She sits up in bed and looks around her room. Hmm... no sign of Bucky. No clothes or other things that might be his. Just her own mess.

Her mouth feels dry and she rubs her eyes. Her muscles feel stiff so she stretches her arms wide. The sun crawls out from behind a cloud again and shines in her face again. Goddamn sun. She combs her fingers through her hair to make it a bit more decent looking.

She turns in place and lets her feet dangle long from the bed and sets them down on the cold floor. She notices that she is still fully clothed, only her shoes are neatly placed next to her bed.

She yawns as she walks barefoot down the hall toward the kitchen. Once arrived and inside, she sees the men sitting at a table. Steve and Bucky are having breakfast with coffee, Sam rests his head on the table top.

"Morning" she says softly in a hoarse voice.

"Good morning Karol! Did you sleep well?" Steve shouts a little too enthusiastically.

"Please... use your inside voice Steve. Calm down." says Karol, squeezing her eyes tight and massaging the bridge of her nose.

"Yeah guys, take it easy." adds Sam. He has lifted his head and is leaning back in his chair.

Karol opens the refrigerator door to get a bottle of water. She opens it and drinks half the bottle in one sitting. When she closes the door and wants to grab coffee, she feels a hand on her back. She turns around and looks back into Bucky's steel blue eyes. She can't supress a smile. Her headache has suddenly subsided slightly.

"Hey babe." he whispers. "Coffee isn't such a good idea right now." He takes the coffee cup from her and hands her a large glass with a green substance.

She looks at it and has no intentions to drink it at all. "What is this? It looks like vomit."

Bucky chuckles. "It's not that bad. Just drink it and you'll feel better soon."

Karol takes a small sip and narrows her eyes. With the liquid still in her mouth, she gives Bucky a betrayed look and tries to swallow it. She feels the thick, filthy drink go down her throat. "Disgusting." she mumbles. She is horrified at the taste and makes a face in disgust. "What is that?!"

He takes the glass and takes a sip with a straight face. It's filled with nutrients, like apple, avocado, spinach.

"Fuck. Nasty." Karol turns around and grabs an apple from a bowl on the kitchen counter. "This..." she holds the fruit up to his face "...is an apple..." she nods at him. "...and this..." she points back at the glass. "...is treason."

Bucky bursts out laughing. Karol hits him in the chest. She can laugh about it herself when she thinks about it, so she grabs the coffee cup from his hand again and turns to the coffee maker for a cup of hot brew.

"Where were you?" She asks him as she turns around again and takes a sip from her coffee. They are standing really close, Karol needs to look up to look straight at him.

Bucky chuckles. "You were out cold yesterday evening, so I tucked you in and went to sleep in my own bed."

"Ah... like that." She rolls her eyes.