Saving Bucky (Bucky Barnes x Reader)

Chapter 30 - Broken Promises

Searing pain in your shoulder tears you from your medically induced sleep as a scream is torn from your throat. You wake up to thrashing as a body next to yours is quickly lifted and tossed across the dimly lit cavern. White-hot pain cuts like a knife through your entire shoulder down into your elbow and across your chest as you struggle to breathe through the agony.

"BUCK! IT'S OKAY! ТЫ В БЕЗОПАСНОСТИ!"

You draw in several excruciating, labored breaths, ignoring the grunts and shouts nearby as you bring your good hand to your wrapped shoulder. When you pull it away, even through your blurred vision you can see your palm is covered in blood. Grimacing, you struggle to sit up and shake the fog from your head. But it's thick, and you're dazed - confused and in pain. The entire room spins and sways each time you try to move, the walls rippling like waves as you glance down at the two large masses tumbling across the ground, a single pile of flailing limbs. Angry growls, grunts, and shouts echo off the stones. 

Suddenly a body goes flying, hitting the wall near your bed so roughly the stones crack beneath the force, sending bits of gravel flying into your hair. You let out a small scream as the body falls to the ground and pulls itself to its knees, breathing raggedly. The moment you do, footsteps from across the cavern make their way towards you. A moment later two ice-blue eyes are at your side, staring down at you wide and horrified.

It takes a moment for your eyes to focus, but when they do your breath catches. 

"James?" you mumble.

Barnes' brow twitches as his eyes search yours. You let out a sigh of relief to see a thick fog of confusion within his gaze. But confusion is better than the darkness, which has faded.  Weakly, you left your right hand, wincing as you start to reach for him. But Steve groans from the ground as he pulls himself up and takes a rapid, staggering step to your bedside giving Barnes a hard push backwards, putting himself between you and Barnes.

"Back up, pal," Steve says firmly.

"No, Steve, wait," you say, focusing on your words as you struggle to speak through the Morphine clearly still in your system. "It's okay...he-he's okay."

But Barnes glances desperately between you and Steve and runs a hand through his hair. As he moves his eyes catch on the plastic bag on the ground. He reaches for it, pulling out a handful of bloody clothes. His bloody clothes. His breath starts to come in labored pants and he gets a wild look in his eye.

"Oh God," Barnes says, dropping the bag is if burned as he sways slightly, reaching out a hand to catch the wall as the other clutches his head in his hands.

"Calm down, Buck," Steve says gently, holding up both hands as he approaches Barnes slowly. "Just breathe."

But Barnes looks up, first at Steve, then to you. His gaze flits between the two of you for a moment before he cries out again, nearly falling to his knees as he staggers backwards, his grip on his hair tightening. 

You've seen this before. 

"Steve...we're losing him," you say breathily as Steve glances back at you. "We had him. Don't let him go."

Steve nods and looks back at Barnes, whose entire body trembles as he mumbles to himself. Steve approaches him slowly, speaking softly and whispering things you can't hear. It seems to work and you hold you breath as Steve gets closer, step by step. Slowly, Steve reaches out and places a hand on Barnes' shoulder.

But the moment he does, Barnes' body tenses.

"Steve, watch out!" you shout weakly.

Steve lunges to the side just in time as Barnes throws a wild punch before staggering back and making a run for the tunnel.