Bound To You (Bucky Barnes X OC)

Nightmares

Bucky was miserable. Each night as he laid in bed, his mind would replay the conversations he had with Steve and Sam two weeks earlier. He had tried to distance himself from Jade, but every time he found himself gravitating back to her. After watching Steve shamelessly flirt with her in front of him all day, Bucky just wanted to be alone. He was taciturn with Jade when they arrived at his apartment. She tried having a conversation with him while she cooked dinner, but he mostly zoned out while she was talking. After they ate, he excused himself to his room where he had spent the rest of the night.

Every time he looked at Jade, he felt helpless. He loved her, but he could never have her. He would never be enough for her and he had accepted that, but it didn't quell the need to be with her. To be next to her whenever he could or touch her when given the chance. It was like a war was raging inside of him and he wasn't sure which side was right and which was wrong.

Bucky was notoriously hard on himself, but for some reason Sam thought he and Jade would be good together. Sam was one of the most perceptive people he knew. Annoying, but perceptive. If he thought Bucky should talk to Jade, then maybe he should. No more running. He finally drifted off thinking about what Sam had said to him during their conversation.

Not long after falling asleep, Bucky had a nightmare. He was the Winter Soldier again. He was back in one of their underground bases, but he wasn't the one being tortured this time. Across the room from him sat Jade fighting against the restraints around her wrists and ankles. Her eyes met Bucky's and he could see that they were filled with panic. She was pleading for him to help her, but he didn't move.

He tried to will his body to do something, to save her, but his legs refused. Outwardly, he was emotionless. His eyes blank, body unmoving. But inside, he was screaming at himself to save Jade. The only woman he had ever loved. The only woman he would ever love. She was going to die if he did nothing, but still his body didn't move. One of the other soldiers approached him and spoke, his voice thick with a Russian accent.

"Kill the girl."

Bucky tried to swing at the soldier, but his arm remained by his side. His body slowly began to walk towards Jade. She pulled at her restraints again, whimpering as he stalked towards her slowly, gun in hand. When he was standing in front of her, he raised his gun and aimed it at her head. She had tears streaming down her cheeks. She shook her head at him and Bucky reached over to pull the gag from her mouth.

"Bucky, please." Jade sobbed. "You don't want to do this."

She sounded so tired as she pleaded with him. Bucky's grip on the gun faltered, but only for a moment. He wanted to turn around and shoot every soldier that stood in the room with him, then collect Jade and take her to safety. But he was trapped. He was a voice of reason without a body to listen, floating in a void where he had no control. The only outward sign that Bucky had any remorse was a single tear that slipped down his cheek as he squeezed the trigger, a solitary shot ringing through the concrete room.

Jade laid motionless in the chair. Her body slumped to the right with her head thrown back against the headrest of the chair. The life in her eyes drained to a dull, unfocused look. Bucky's body turned and headed back to his previous spot. To the other soldiers, he remained unbothered. No sympathy showed for the woman he had just murdered. On the inside, Bucky was mourning. He was distraught, pleading for Jade to sit up and be okay.

He wanted to run to her, to pull her into his arms and say he was sorry for everything. As he finally gained control of his body and started running towards Jade, he jolted awake. He was panting and sweating profusely. Panic took over him as he quickly stood from his bed. Without bothering to throw on a shirt, he opened his bedroom door to find Jade asleep.