Fine Line (Bucky Barnes x OC)

Useless

A week after Luna arrived back at the compound, she was itching to get back to work. Unfortunately, none of the team would allow her to do even the smallest of tasks. The strongest of those opposers was Bucky. He had barely left her side since they got back and the team was baffled at first by the way he seemed so protective of Luna. They expected the pair to still be at each other's throats, but that wasn't the Bucky and Luna they saw. Knowing what they did about his past, no one questioned Luna's explanation that Bucky felt guilty and that's why he was being nice and helping her as much as he was.

Every morning before he went to the gym, Bucky snuck into Luna's room to check on her. If he had nothing planned for the day, he'd spend the rest of the day in her room making sure she didn't strain herself if she needed to get up. He'd help her walk around the compound and the grounds for as long as she could or lay with her and watch movies if she wasn't feeling up to moving around. There were several times when Bucky could see she was hiding her pain. She was too stubborn for her own good and he had to remind her more often than not that the doctor didn't want her overexerting herself. If she was in pain, she needed to rest.

On days when he had meetings or training exercises to run, he'd always make sure to be free at lunchtime so he could bring her food and spend at least a little time with her. Every evening without fail he was in her room letting her fall asleep on his chest, but he'd sneak out in the early morning hours after falling asleep with her for a few hours. Luna was afraid someone would see him leaving her room if he stayed too long and she wasn't ready to answer their questions.

He respected her request, but it was hard for him to leave her. Bucky had gotten so used to sleeping next to her that when he went to his own room, he would toss and turn, usually remaining awake until the sun began to rise. He wanted to ask her if he could stay but, since their talk when she first woke up, Luna was finally comfortable with him being around. She was less combative and let him touch and cuddle her without pushing him away. He didn't want to ruin that by asking her to do something she wasn't comfortable with.

The Sunday after their return, Luna asked if Bucky wanted to take a walk down to the lake. It wasn't an extremely long walk, but it was further than Luna was used to. Bucky was hesitant at first, but Luna had cracked his code and knew exactly what to do to get him to bend to her will. Her eyes would widen slightly, causing her brow to furrow, and her lips turned down into a frown. As soon as her face contorted into the adorable pout, Bucky couldn't help but give in to her.

"Please, Bucky?" She pouted as she looked up at him. "I'm so sick of being confined to this room or the main perimeter of the compound."

Luna had her head resting on his chest as they laid in her bed and watched a movie.

"If I say yes, will you stop giving me puppy dog eyes?" He asked.

"Maybe." She mused and smiled up at him.

"I'm so screwed." He chuckled.

"That you are my friend. If I had known it was this easy to get you to cave, I would've done this a long time ago." She said and looked back at the TV.

"Wouldn't have worked back then. I didn't realize I was in love you, so it would've just come off as annoying."

"Touché." Luna patted his stomach and continued staring at the TV. "Can we go after dinner? I wanna watch the sun set."

"Sure, doll. When we're done eating, I'll grab some blankets and then we can head out, but you gotta be honest with me about your pain and how you're feeling."

"Scout's honor, sir." Luna said, giving him a serious expression and saluting him.

"You're such a dork." He muttered and stifled a chuckle.