Rosalie Kasten is out of luck and out of time. For the last two years, she's been living on borrowed time. After her involvement with the death of Edwin Pierce - Alexander Pierce's son - it's only a matter of time before Hydra comes for her.
James...
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𝚩𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 soft snores leave Rose's lips. He knows she doesn't want him to lie too close to her, but as she sleeps, she can't tell him to fuck off. He strokes some of her hair away from her face. It sticks slightly to her bottom lip, and he stops, afraid she might wake up, but her slow breaths continue.
Her lashes flutter, and her eyebrows furrow. He's seen it before. It often happens when she's dreaming, and he doubts it'll be long until she begins thrashing, whimpering, and sweating. Her features scrunch together, and he lifts her duvet, moving underneath it.
As long as he doesn't fall asleep, and she doesn't wake up, it'll be fine. Rose's head flings back and forth, fighting against whatever nightmare she's having. He wraps an arm around her waist and pulls her closer. The cries are beginning, and her flailing arms and kicking will be next.
Bucky moves the metal arm underneath her head, and the fleshy tips of his fingers caress her arm. Her breath calms down again and her face buries in his chest as her brown hair swims over the black and red sheets. He gulps and tries to figure out if he should move away from her or not.
He knows that he doesn't like when people touch him, but here she is clinging to him. He knows that he never liked roses, they're too overrated. When he was younger, he took pride in figuring out what kind of flower the girl he was dating liked, and he'd go out of his way to get her those instead of a basic rose. But then there's her, his Rose.
It's not healthy for him to think like this, and he knows it. Bucky gets too protective over things that are his. Even small things like mugs because he's still having a hard time wrapping his head around the fact no one is going to come and snatch them away from him. It's the same with touches, for so long they were only associated with punishment or pain. His was hard for Steve to understand at first. But he's never disliked her touches. Not his Rose.
It seems that no matter what it is, all of it goes back to Hydra. Even if he isn't under their control anymore, they're a constant voice in the back of his head that he can never escape. It's always there. Bucky slowly pulls away from her, careful to not wake her up. He can't just lie here anymore, and he needs to do something else. Rose turns over on the bed and continues to sleep without a hint of a nightmare.
He pulls a shirt over his head and trots into the living room, where both the mutt and Alpine are sleeping. The cat lifts her head and gives what seems to almost be a nod. He walks over and pets her, smiling as she softly purrs. All of his books are in a pile on one of the shelves, and he combs through them, but to his own dismay, he's read all of them. Twice.
The clock on the wall shows it's 2 am, so no library or bookshop is going to be open. He sits down in the chair and grabs the remote to the TV. Alpine immediately hops into his lap and curls up, purring even before his hand starts petting her. The cat is used to him waking up by now.
