Your leg bounces, shaking nervously as you fidget with the nearly empty cup of cold coffee on the table. You've waived away the waitress three times - any more caffeine and the pounding in your head may cause your skull to crack.
The single pill you took at Mikolaj's house all those hours ago has started to wear off, and that numbing layer has worn thin. Thinner than usual. And you're finding a profound discomfort at being outside, alone, for the first time in your life.
Your hand floats to the pocket of your coat and your pills rattle around inside their plastic bottle. They make it so much easier. They take away the nerves and coat you in that icy blanket of unfeeling sadism - the one that makes you feel powerful. The one you thought was inherently yours. Although, you're starting to wonder if maybe you were never as strong or cold or detached as you believed yourself to be. Regardless, the pills bring her back. The Interrogator. And she's who you need right now.
But you hesitate. You've come to hate the way James looks at you when you take them.
James.
Frowning, you pull the pill bottle from your pocket and pour not one, not two, but three pills into your palm. You have again lost your formality, starting to think of him as James. You can't risk that kind of weakness. Not now.
Trembling fingers cap the pill bottle and shove it quickly away as you swallow and scout the wide open plaza, your eyes flitting from shadow to shadow looking for the soldier. You're hoping that wherever he is, he hasn't seen what you've just done.
As you wait for your pills to soak up the nerves you cast an exhausted glance out over the plaza's sparse, late morning crowd. A man sits a few tables away, reading a newspaper and drinking a coffee. Two women on a bench laugh and compare photos on their cell phones. A teen skateboards casually nearby.
Too quiet. Not enough people.
But Barnes had assured you - you're safe here. The cafe's overhang keeps you concealed from vantage points. And the number of outdoor restaurants and cafes in the area make it easy enough to blend in and not stick out.
You'll be safe, he said. As long as you don't go anywhere.
"Stay here. Don't move."
"Wait...where are you going?"
"I need to make sure we're alone."
"I'm not going with you?"
"Do you want to go with me?"
"..."
"I'll move faster by myself, Y/n."
"..."
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing. Go."
"..."
"Just go, Barnes. Make it quick."
"You can come if you're afraid of being alone."
"I'm not afraid, James. But I'm not even armed."
"Do you want my gun?"
"Wh-what? No, James. I don't want your gun! I want y-"
"What do you want?"
"Nothing. Just...hurry up and come back, okay?"
"..."
"Stop looking at me like that, Barnes."
"..."
"I'm serious, James. Get out of here."
YOU ARE READING
Saving Bucky (Bucky Barnes x Reader)
FanficSet immediately after the events of Saving Steve (Book 2), Bucky finds himself locked up in the hands of The Company - a mysterious shadow organization asking too many questions about his Winter Soldier programming. And he'll do anything to hide th...
