✔𝚨 𝚸𝛐𝐞𝐭'𝐬 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐞 ➳ 𝚩𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐲 𝚩𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐬

Chapter 10

Melora had not eaten anything for dinner, but the worry was lacing her every thought, and nausea came back every time she even thought of eating. Doing nothing was not a good idea either, so she was instead reading a book of poetry she had picked up from a bookstore in northern Italy.

She was making her lines now and again, adding more to the various poems or scratching out words she found useless. It was a way to keep her mind busy, and she hoped to at some point write her own. A slight dream perhaps, but she had always been scared to start.

"What a speech," Bucky interrupted her train of thought as he entered her tent, having just pushed past the swaying fabric, and he drew out the chair by the desk while she pulled her knees closer to her chest.

"It was the only thing that felt right to say," she said in a voice barely above a whisper, warily watching him as she continued writing next to the poem already on the page.

"They're still discussing what they want to do," he said, picking up one of her pens and fiddling with it.

"Is that why you left?" She asked, glancing up from the pages but quickly looking back down.

"Nah, I didn't have much else to say." He shrugged and sent her a slight smile. "They know where I stand, and Hobbs was pissing me off."

"I'm guessing he wants to tell the Colonel then?" She sighed deeply, knowing that a few of them would probably want to speak with command about her and what exactly had happened.

"Big-time," Bucky said and raised his eyebrows, but that was hardly what she needed to hear so he cleared his throat instead. "Stevens shot him down though. Most of them want you to stay after seeing how you did out there today."

A small smile washed over her face, and he stood up from the chair, sitting down on her bed by her feet and he rested his chin on her knees, hands placed on each side of her legs.

"You doing alright, Angel?" He carefully asked and she shrugged, the lump back in her throat.

"I really thought he would be able to make it," she said, and closed her book, putting it down on her bedside table. "And I am worried about the squads deciding to tell command."

"You said it yourself; we did everything we could," he tried to comfort her, climbing up the bed next to her and putting his arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his chest. "Dugan and Gabe are with you, of course, but Kirkland, Jackson and Stevens have got your back as well. Think you'd like how highly they were talking about you."

Melora nodded against his chest, various questions running through her mind and so many secrets weighing on her shoulders at the same time. Her head slowly turned as she looked up at him, feeling the distinct sense of home as she rested on his chest, listening to his heartbeat.

"Can I tell you a secret?" She asked, watching the dim flame in the lantern on her desk, and Bucky hummed in response, beginning to trace circles on her skin.

"My full name is Melora," she smiled to herself, and he grinned down at her.

"Beautiful name for a beautiful girl," he said, and she rolled her eyes, a blush appearing on her cheeks nonetheless. "I figured your name was short for something."

"How come you're so calm about barely knowing anything about me?" She asked, pulling up his shirt and sliding her hand up his warm stomach, lightly caressing his skin with the tips of her fingers.

"What do you mean?" He asked in confusion. "I know a lot of things about you." He leaned down and kissed the top of her head. "I know you like poetry, you worry and care about most people you talk to, you're funny... and we can't forget how you make me smile more than anyone else."