Revenge Turned Sweet

Chapter 31: Masks

My eyes squint open at the sunlight dripping into the room dawning everything, making my eyes ache. I squeeze them shut and roll over into the large bed. Intending to block out the day as long as I possibly can. I sigh heavily at the natural alarm clock that has just woken me up and push myself up at my elbows while rubbing the sleep from my eyes. I push my hair out of my face and bask in the warmth of the sun coming through the windows. The space in the bed is empty next to me, making me furrow my brows at his absence.

Soft breathing catches my attention coming from the side of the bed I had slept on. I droop off of the side and suppress a smile seeing Bucky on the ground. I admire him for a moment, the way he looks so at peace. His face is relaxed, his breathing is shallow, it's not something I get to see a lot. "Good morning," I say in a soft voice, running my fingers through his messy hair. His eyes widen and open slowly as he wakes up. His eyes find mine and I smile at him, leaning on my hand. "What're you doing on the ground?"

His eyes slowly sweep in his surroundings, looking confused and groggy. He blinks a few times and looks back to me with wide blue eyes. He clears his throat as he finds the words. "Beds' too soft," he mumbles sleepily.

I furrow my brows at him as he pulls the blanket off of his exposed torso to sit up. He gives me a lazy smile as his fingers ruffle through his hair. "'Too soft'?" I press my hand into the mattress, it's rock solid and I can already feel the stiffness in my body.

"It's like a marshmallow," he mutters, smirking at me with hooded eyes. It's funny, with the warm sunlight hitting his face and the content expression, you'd never know this was the man who was tortured for years upon years.

I suppress a smile at how playful he's acting, granted he's probably half asleep still. But, I'll take it. He's almost nose to nose with me. "You're out of your mind, Barnes." I chuckle when his eyes widen at my words, looking more awake than ever.

"Oh, we're back to Barnes now, huh?" He chuckles, referring to our first meeting. I shake my head furiously as he inches closer to me. He's insanely still for a second before startling me with his hands grabbing my arms, lifting me off of the bed and pulling me on top of him.

I squirm in his hold as he sets me down gently, making him laugh. His dark t-shirt I'd worn to sleep inches up my thighs as I sit on his hips, laughing at his action. "No more Bucky?" He asks with a rasp in his voice.

My breathing hitches as his hands slide down from my arms, to my waist, to my thighs. I shake my head at him. "You're out of your mind, Bucky," I say, correcting my previous statement to his liking.

He grins at me and I feel heat begin to rise in my neck. "Much better," he says quietly.

⩔ ⩔ ⩔ ⩔

I crack the knuckles in my fingers individually, trying to ease the stress flowing through my body. Making me feel like I could snap at any moment. There's too much light in here, it's too warm. I push a slow breath out through my mouth, giving myself a moment to stop the oncoming wave of panic.

"Okay, you're sure you want to test this out?" Sam asks me, looking very unsure of the situation.

I nod and look around the large room that's mostly used for workouts or training. "If we're going to take care of this problem, then yes."

He huffs out a breath. "These words?" He asks, pointing to the piece of paper I gave him a few minutes ago.

"Yes, Sam. Just do it already," I snap, feeling on edge and just wanting to get this over with.

He clears his throat and I wince at the sound echoing off of the walls. Everything seems louder now that I'm waiting for the three words that can either confirm the spell worked or bring everything tumbling down. "Andrei," he says and his eyes dart up to mine, I almost cringe at the way he says his name. Definitely not the way it's pronounced but Sam looks confident enough in his pronunciation. I nod, signaling for him to continue. "Katrina," he continues and I feel my palm twitch.