Neighbours (Bucky Barnes x OC)

Eleven

Lia

She hadn't seen him for a few days. As much as she tried to ignore it she did struggle without him. She was never out after dark anymore, with no one to directly protect her it felt as if it was too dangerous. Bucky gave her the security blanket she couldn't give herself.

The whole world around her seemed as if it were in uproar about the "new captain america". Lia didn't pay much attention, she never bothered with the superheroes anyways. As much as she liked having them around it never did her good to pay much attention to the news. John Walker didn't seem like the same type Steve Rodgers was to her. Steve seemed to genuinely have respect for people whereas John just seemed like a cocky arsehole.

"You're watching that intently." Marie smiled at the blonde, watching her ponytail bob as she turned to face Marie.

Marie wasn't stupid, she could see the growing affection for Bucky that Lia had. She knew they'd get along, call it an intuition. Louis knew they'd be close, telling Marie multiple times that they'd be together before they knew it.

"She likes him." Louis laughed from the corner, eating his cake happily. A stupid smirk played on his face which caused Lia to scowl.

"John? No thank you. He seems like a prick Lou." Louis' face turned questionable instantly, wiping the smirk away which made Lia smile.

"Prick?"

"A dickhead. A penis." Louis' laughter echoed through the cafe, causing Marie to roll her eyes as a smile spread across her face.

"You and your British slang Li." Lia winked at the man. Louis had been like a dad to her for so long, teaching him new things made her happy. He was like a sponge, soaking up all the information she provided.

"You love it." Louis laughed to himself as Lia straightened her hair, focusing in once again on John Walker. He was very obviously in it for the fame and it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure it out.

"Lia?" In all her concentration she didn't see Bucky coming into the cafe, jumping a little at the sound of his voice and turning to look at him.

"Bucky?" She smirked as she replied, knowing she was being irritating for no reason. He rolled his eyes at her, his jaw clenching as he looked at the man on the screen.

"What can I get you?" Bucky's eyes didn't stray from the TV, watching closely as John met some 'fans'.

"Just the usual." His voice sounded like a robot, no emotion clear. It broke Lia hearing him sound so off.

"Are you okay?" She locked eyes with him, the blue burning into hers. It was obvious how hurt he was behind them but he didn't say anything. Bucky held her gaze before looking towards Marie and Louis, them both watching the pair carefully.

"M' fine." Lia nodded, getting together Bucky's usual order.

Her hands felt shakey, worried about what was going on with Bucky. The bags under his eyes looked bigger than usual, as if something was playing on his mind consistently and keeping him up. She knew not to pry with Bucky but she needed to make sure he was safe. He had a small scrape on his face that concerned her, he was obviously doing something dangerous. How could she approach something so delicate? Bucky wasn't the type to air his feelings about and she knew that prying would only push him further away.

Hesitantly, she handed over his coffee. Bucky's gaze focused on her shakey hand setting down the coffee and she bit her lip watching his jaw tense. He was worried about her. It was written all over his face.

"Are you okay Lia?" His hand grabbed hers as she went to pull away from the coffee, his gaze burning into hers. She felt her pulse quicken instantly as her breathing sped up.

He's a super soldier, he can definitely hear what he's doing to you.

"Um," Words seemed so far away from her right now, as if the world around them both had stopped. "No, could you come over later?"

That was it. The grab, he had a small weakness for her. Lia didn't know Bucky very well but it seemed as if he wanted to protect her and she was determined to play on it a little to get closer to him. She needed to make sure he was okay.

Bucky nodded, handing over his change to Lia and leaving. The second the door closed she felt as if a weight had been lifted from her chest, making her feel even slightly better. Having Bucky around was intoxicating and she knew how dangerous that was for her. It never ended well.