Trying Your Luck - Bucky BarnesxOC

Part 23: Animal

Author's Note: Smutty chapter! I'm copying and pasting these from AO3, so I probably missed some content warnings because I'm not copying my original author's notes. I'm just trying to get this up as fast as possible. And, yeah, in this fic Bucky can take his arm off. I'm 99% sure I wrote it before episode 4 of TFATWS.

He turns down the TV when he hears Shannon say goodbye to her dad. The sound of the kitchen chair scraping against linoleum lets him know to turn it off. Bucky sets the remote down on the arm of the couch. He stares at her as she walks into the living room and leans against the doorway. Her eyes are rimmed red from crying and she sniffles, but she's smiling at him. It must have been a good conversation. Before he can ask, her mouth opens.

"This is going to sound like a weird question, but do you want to go for a run with me?"

Bucky raises an eyebrow.

"I didn't know you ran —" He stops himself. "I knew you ran track, but I thought that was when you were a kid."

"I still run a few times a week. Sometimes, when you sleep in, I sneak out with Ace. It helps me clear my head."

Bucky drains his coffee and gives Alpine a small scratch on the head. He could use some fresh air to ease the anxiety in his chest. He's nervous about the party tonight, despite Shannon's reassurance that he'll be great.

"Sure," he says. "I'll go with you."

"Can you actually jog, or does being a Super Soldier mean you run extra fast?" She teases.

"I can sprint when I need to," Bucky laughs. "But I won't leave you in the dust. Did you bring running shoes?"

"Yep!" She chirps.

They both change - Bucky pulls on a pair of sweatpants and sneakers while Shannon has a whole running ensemble. Black tights with pockets, sleek running shoes, and some kind of quilted long-sleeved shirt with white reflective lines on it. She grabs Ace's leash and they head out. Shannon seems to already have a route laid out, Bucky just follows her. There are times when she slows down and he doesn't realize it and winds up fifteen feet ahead of her, but they mostly run side by side. Well, for him it's more of a walk. She turns to him.

"My dad was more lucid today on the phone."

"Is he the reason why we're running?"

She smiles.

"Partially. He's excited to meet you. So is my mom."

"When do you want to go?" Bucky asks.

"A couple of weeks, I think. Mom says he's getting a little worse, so I might have to fly out sooner than next month."

"I'll come with you."

"Really? Because if you have stuff going on, you can always meet me."

"It'll be fine. I just have to let Dr. Raynor know so that we can have therapy sessions over the phone or something."

"Okay. I'll book our tickets." She pauses as they stop at a streetlight. Bucky stops, but Shannon jogs in place. "You're positive you want to do this?"

"I want to see where you grew up," Bucky replies. He glances over at her. "I'm very curious about you, Shannon."

He can't tell if it's the jogging that's making her turn pink, or if she's actually blushing. Halfway through the run, Bucky decides to push her a little to see how much of that track star past is still stored in her body. She manages to keep up until the last mile when she's grabbing a telephone pole and doubled over with a beet-red face. Bucky holds Ace still, making sure he doesn't try to chase another dog down the street.