Saving Bucky (Bucky Barnes x Reader)

Chapter 24 - Molniya

*BANG* *BANG* *BANG*

You're torn from a deep, thick sleep by a surge of paranoid adrenaline caused by heavy pounding on the motel room door. Tangled in a web of white blanket, you struggled to stand as Barnes immediately leaps from his chair and wraps his body around yours and rolls you both off the side of the bed, away from the door and onto the ground. 

"That was excessive," you grumble, still trying to knock the cobwebs of sleep from the corners of your mind.

"Shh," he hushes you sternly, keeping you trapped tightly between him and the bed as he reaches around your shoulders, raising his weapon and keeping it aimed at the door as the sound of a key slipping in the lock has him cocking the gun. 

The door flies open, but is caught by the chain. A small brown eye peeks through. 

"Hey! Uh...you guys gotta go!"

You let out a sigh of relief and wiggle out from beneath Barnes, standing as you shake the blanket off your shoulders into a jumbled heap on the floor. Yawning, you stretch lazily and make your way to the door, undoing the chain and allowing Jo in. 

"Woah...what happened in here?" she asks, jaw dropped as she glances around the room. 

For the first time since waking, you too take a look around. And the place is...a mess. Blinds from the back window lay limply on the ground and torn lampshades and cut upholstery are strewn about the floor. Your jaw drops as you turn and glare and Barnes who stands at the foot of the bed. He shrugs.

"I honestly don't know. I'm so sorry," you say, huffing as you look back at the girl. "But you said we need to leave. Why? What's wrong?" you ask, peering out the closed curtain. The sun has only just set over the horizon, casting a deep golden-purple glow over the rolling fields in the distance.

"Yeah, uh, so, those water guys came to fix the pipes for the pool, right?" Jo says, shifting nervously as she picks the hangnail on her thumb. "But grandma wants 'em to come take a look at the water up to this room too since they're already here so you gotta go. Like, now."

"Shit," Barnes growls.

"Okay," you say, turning to the girl. "We'll be gone when they get here. And...thank you. For your help."

You give the girl a grateful smile as she scampers back to the door. She takes one last look around at the mess and grimaces, then pulls the door closed behind her. 

"You know she's probably going to have to help clean all this up," you say, leaning up against the wall, watching as Barnes pulls on his boots. "What the hell did you do?"

Barnes grunts as he grabs his knife from where it's been curiously discarded on the floor near the sofa. You watch, intrigued, as he then moves back to his chair and grabs something off the ground, tossing a bundle to you.

"What is this?" you ask, catching it.

He glances towards the towel-wrapped bundle in your hands. "Hurry up. We need to move," he says, glancing towards the door. 

Unwrapping the towel, your heart lurches at what's inside. 

A pair of makeshift sandals. 

The soles are cut from the cover of the travel guide book once on the bedside table. The inside lined with the resistant fabric of the lampshades to keep your feet dry, and then covered with the softer couch fabric to be as comfortable as possible. And it's all stitched into place with string from the blinds. Gently, your fingers trace the straps made from rope that have been braided together from thin strips of ugly duvet fabric.