Loki Laufeyson - The Experiment {1}

Chapter Thirty One - Bucky Barnes

After breakfast, Steve let me choose whatever car out of the garage I wanted. I never knew someone could have so many cars in the one place, and by the looks of them all, either someone cleaned them every day or they had never been used. I was hesitant to actually choose one, but Steve assured me Tony would be fine with it. After a lot of looking around at all of the cars, I picked a very fancy blue sport one. Steve grinned at my choice and opened up the door to the passenger seat for me. I smiled softly at him and hopped in, eyes widening at the interior.

"Tony loves flash cars." Steve said as he hopped into the driver's seat.

"I noticed." I breathed, my eyes darting over everything. Steve started up the car and the engine roared to life, scaring me slightly. Steve clicked a button on the keys and the garage door opened up, the car moving smoother than I was expecting out of the door.

"Seatbelt." Steve said, nodding to me. I quickly hurried to put it on before he put his foot down on the accelerator and the car sped off down the driveway, churning up the pebbles. I let out a small squeak and clutched the door, Steve slowing down slightly and giving me a comforting smile. We sped away from the compound and onto a road that was completely empty, Steve finally slowing down to a normal speed.

"Do you want the roof open?" He asked and I looked over at him, confused by what he meant, he just smiled and clicked a button on the dashboard and the roof above our heads broke away from the windscreen and disappeared into the back of the car. Immediately, a cool breeze whipped through my air, threatening to undo the braid I had quickly done before we felt. I smile and reached up, untying it and letting my hair blow free. Steve grinned at me before turning his attention back to the road.

We drove along city roads for a little before we took a left turn and the scenery changed into a more country style. The grass in paddocks flowed gently in the breeze as we drove past, some of the cows or horses in the paddocks looking up at us as we drove past.

We eventually pulled into a gravel driveway, which was quite bumpy, throwing us around as we drove up it to a small, rather cute house on the hill. It kind of looked like something out of a story, but not in an overly perfect way. Steve pulled the car to a stop at the top of the hill and we both stepped out. I looked around at the beautiful scenery all around us, it literally took my breath away. I had always wanted to live in the country, the city was just too busy in my opinion. The country was so much quieter, so much more calming, there was barely anyone that lived in the country, which meant no HYDRA.

"Emily." Called Steve from where he was already at the front door of the house. "Come on." I took one last look at the view before quickly walking up the stairs to the front door. The door was a deep faded green, some parts of the paint chipping. Steve raised his hand and knocked three time on the front door, which made a weak rattling sound. I stuffed my hands in the pocket of the black hoodie I was wearing, biting my lip nervously. I heard faint shuffling behind the door and my heart began to pound nervously. Steve seemed to somehow sense it because he looked down at me, offering me a comforting smile which I returned nervously. There was the sound of the door unlocking and very slowly, the door squeaked open the tiniest bit, allowing whoever was behind the door to peer out the door just a little.

"Steve?" Asked the voice from whoever was behind the door, causing Steve to grinned. The door opening up all of the way to reveal a man probably no older than 30 years old, maybe a little younger. Or at least he looked that way with the longish hair that went to his shoulders and the faint stubble on his jaw. He was dressed in a loose grey t-shirt with a black leather jacket thrown loosely over the top, matching a pair of black, rough looking black cargo pants and heavy-looking boots. I didn't miss the gloves on both of his hands too.

"Hey Buck." Steve replied and the other man, who I figured was Bucky, stepped out, wrapping Steve in a big hug. Steve chuckled and hugged him back, slapping him on the back. I looked away, feeling like I was interrupting a personal moment.

"Who's this?" Bucky asked as they eventually pulled away from the hug. "Is she another one of your Avenger girlfriends?"

"Buck," Steve sighed, rolling his eyes but still smiling slightly. I looked away, blush creeping along my cheeks as he continued. "I've already told you, Nat was not my girlfriend. And Emily isn't either, she's just a friend."

"Mmm, keep telling yourself that." Bucky grinned, stepping aside for us both to walk inside the house. "I still remember the time you came rushing to me telling me you two had kissed." This time Steve was the one to blush, something that I had never seen.

"That was ages ago Buck." Steve replied as we walked inside. "There were no feelings between us either, we had to do it for the mission. And I did not come running to you." Bucky huffed a laugh, closed the door behind us, and led us down the hallway.

"Did you two actually kiss?" I whispered to Steve as we walked and he rolled his eyes.

"It was part of a disguise." He replied. "Don't you dare start either, Tony still brings it up every now and then. He knows I hate it." I smiled softly and nodded before he looked up at Bucky as music floated to us.

"Is this It's Been a Long, Long Time?" Asked Steve, smiling slightly as he furrowed an eyebrow. Bucky turned back around to look at us and smiled, nodding.

"Remember the old times when you loved this song?" He said, opening up the fridge, which was basically empty, pulling out a bottle of water.

"I still do." Steve replied, looking around the kitchen. "I haven't heard it in a long time though."

"Do you two want anything to eat?" Bucky asked, handing each of us a cup of water. "I don't know if there is much in the cupboard, but you can check." Steve gave Bucky a look, causing him to hold up a hand. "Before you say anything, I just don't get hungry." Steve raised an eyebrow and walked over to the cupboards, leaving me standing awkwardly in the door way. He opened up on and pulled something out, the label reading tinned spaghetti.

"What is this?" Steve asked, turning around and looking at Bucky, who was leaning against the door frame opposite me, a cup of water in his gloved hand.

"Tinned spaghetti." Bucky rolled his eyes. "Surely you can read. What on Earth do they feed you there?"

"Definitely not spaghetti in tins." Steve muttered, putting the tin back in the cupboard before he sat down on one of the chairs at the table. I stayed against the doorframe, keeping a close eye on Bucky. He was a stranger, I didn't know him. I wasn't going to let my guard down. "How are you holding up?"

"Fine." Bucky shrugged, pouring another glass of water. "It gets quite boring out here." He shifted against the doorframe. "There isn't really much to do out here. The signal is really bad so sometimes the TV doesn't work. I mainly listen to the records you brought a little while ago. I'm probably going to jinx myself now, but sometimes I find myself wishing HYDRA would show up, give me something to do."