New Beginning - A Bucky Barnes Story

Chapter 19 - The Conflict

Bucky stood on the sidewalk near Dear Butter for like forever, staring at Adriana and Sebastian while they talked and laughed. He battled with his own thoughts. He considered his options in the face of this new development. He could :

a. Punch Sebastian on the face

b. Punch Sebastian on the gut

c. Strangle him to death with his metal arm.

Wait..he shook his head and took a deep breath. Surely this was not reason enough to kill Sebastian, especially since he was a celebrity. And he made a promise to his shrink not to hurt anyone again. Especially outside his line of work as an Avenger. He sighed and tried to control his rage.

He focused on Adriana and Sebastian again. She was doubled over with laughter. He didn't remember ever making her laugh like that. He looked at the both of them and suddenly he felt sad. He couldn't believe what he was thinking, but he thought they looked good together. Both were regular human beings. Both work in similar industries. Sebastian clearly was loaded and could take good care of Adriana. It was clear Sebastian could make Adriana happy. He seemed like he also had taken a liking to Adriana. And obviously, Sebastian didn't kill Adriana's father. That fact alone should be motivation enough for him to leave Adriana and let her be happy with Sebastian. He knew he was never good for her. Besides, it just occurred to him, due to the super soldier serum running in his veins, he grew older at a much slower rate than normal human beings like Adriana. If he stayed in a relationship with her, she would most likely die first. His heart ached. He couldn't bear the thought of being left alone without her. It would be best to break the relationship before it went too far, he finally decided.

He stared at them again, pain in his heart. He decided to leave. He would call her later. Break up with her over the phone. He couldn't do it in person. Just when he was about to leave, Adriana noticed him and called him out.

"Bucky!?" She stood up and excused herself from Sebastian. She walked over to him, smiling from ear to ear. Bucky couldn't help but smiled back, even if it didn't mirror what was in his heart.

"Hi.. I didn't think you would be back so soon." She said while giving him a hug and a peck on the cheek.

Bucky didn't return the hug nor the peck. He just stood there, hands in his jacket pocket, not sure how to react.

"Are you okay?" Adriana asked in concern.

Bucky just nodded.

"You sure?" Adriana asked again, not convinced.

"Yeah..I'm okay." Bucky said. His eyes went over her head, meeting Sebastian's. Sebastian was looking at them curiously, but he smiled and waved when Bucky looked at him. Bucky didn't return the smile nor the wave. He just gave him a death stare.

Adriana seemed to understand what was going on. She grabbed Bucky's hand and pulled him to walk with her and come with her to meet Sebastian.

"Bucky, Sebastian is here for a fitting. He's looking to find a suit for a movie premiere next week. Edward was supposed to accompany him but..he got sick..so he asked me to cover for him." Adriana explained while they walked towards Sebastian. She clearly understood that Bucky was jealous.

"Okay. Why so early?" Bucky asked.

"He has a movie to shoot at 10." Adriana answered.

"Then why aren't you at the office?" Bucky asked.

"Sebastian wanted some coffee before we start. That's all. Please don't be jealous Bucky." Adriana pleaded.

"I'm not." Bucky lied.