Saving Bucky (Bucky Barnes x Reader)

Chapter 20 - Changing Tides

"Fuck," you grumble, head swimming as you start slowly regaining consciousness. 

Dizzy, you throw out your good arm to grab onto something as you feel the floor start to move beneath you, as if standing on a hill of sand. But a warm hand catches yours, and guides it back to your own chest. As your vision focuses you realize you're actually already on the floor, leaning against something warm and sturdy. You look up to find Barnes' furrowed brow watching you intently, gauging your awareness and level of alertness.

Suddenly you recognize you're in his lap. Actually sitting in his lap. Mortified, you try to move, to crawl out of his space. But a metal arm is wrapped around your waist and it tightens slightly, holding you in place. 

"Relax," he grunts. "You passed out."

"No I didn't," you argue on instinct, wiggling again and trying to get free. 

"You did, actually," Barnes grunts, holding you tighter. "Which why we're both on the floor."

"I'm fine," you argue.

"Move too fast you'll pass out again," Barnes says, irritated.

 "Let me go," you grunt, pushing against his chest but realizing too late you used your recently fixed arm. "Damnit!" you cringe, letting out a pained hiss of air.

Barnes lets out an irritated huff of air as he rolls his eyes. "Stop moving. I need to make sure your arm is set."

"I thought that was the point of whatever the hell you just did," you pout. 

"Are your muscles still twitching?" Barnes asks pointedly.

Your brow furrows as you look down at your shoulder - visibly better but still relatively painful. Small little twitches around the joint send sparks of pain both up into your neck and down into your elbow.

"Yeah," you answer. 

"Then I got the ball back in its socket," Barnes states. "But-"

"Good, then I'm fine," you interrupt. "I can deal with it."

"But," Barnes snaps. "It's still not set. It'll probably slip out again."

You huff and give Barnes' chest another shove, indicating your displeasure at still being in his lap on the ground. Not that you're uncomfortable, necessarily. But rather that you're starting to feel that irritating little flutter in your chest - the one that usually comes with being too close to the Sergeant. The one that usually precedes your headaches. 

"Just...just help me up," you grunt.

Barnes sighs, defeated, as he maneuvers out from under you and stands. He reaches down and slowly, gently, helps you to your feet. 

"Come on, I can do the next part sitting down," he says nodding towards the living room.

He disappears through the archway but you hesitate in following, instead casting a glance down the hall towards your room. You had left the Hold with nothing but the clothes on your back, then pills and pen in your pocket, and the boots Steve had stripped from that Agent. Everything you now own are down that hallway. You could grab them and go. Be done with it all. With Barnes. With Asmodai. With the Tressis. All of it. 

You could start over. 

"Let's go, princess."

Shock rips through your body in a white-hot torrent as Barnes voice floats through the foyer over the sounds of the television. Stunned, you turn in place to stare at the soldier through the archway as he sits on the couch and watches you expectantly, his expression neutral as he arches a single brow and nods towards the couch.