The Greatest Bastard || Bucky Barnes x OC

The Irish Coffee

When Bucky opened the door for Simone that day, he noticed immediately that something wasn't quite right. She looked pale. And stiff. Much stiffer than usual.

Happy stood next to her like a column, as always, glowering at Bucky from across the threshold.

"Come in..." He whispered, not taking his eyes off Simone as she slowly walked past him. He didn't even bother with the formalities this time. He looked at Happy, told him "Two hours" and closed the door in his face.

When he turned to check on Simone, she was sitting in her usual seat. She had taken her coat off, and gotten into position to sit for the painting.

"Simone..." Bucky whispered, his hands nervously tucked into his pockets.

She flicked her gaze up, looking at him with empty eyes.

"Are you alright?" He asked carefully.

"Fine" She mumbled, looking away from him.

He wasn't convinced.

"I don—" He tried.

"Can we just—" Simone snapped, but her words fell off into a soft whimper as she turned her face away. She seemed to be taking a breath to collect herself.

"Can we just get started? Please." She looked up at him again from where she sat, her voice trembling, her hands were clearly shaking, and her eyes were glossy.

Bucky nodded, and took his place behind the canvas.

Every now and then he'd peek up at her, watching her controlled expression. And for each time, it seemed to crumble a bit more.

They were about 20 minutes into their session, when something ruptured inside of Simone. She began gasping for air, her fingernails digging into the sides of the chair.

"Simone..." He whispered, putting the brush down.

"I'm—I'm sorry, I don't know what's come over me" She managed, her words stumbling over themselves as they tried to escape from her mouth.

Bucky brought his chair over, placing it in front of hers as he carefully leaned forward.

"Simone, did something happen?" He asked carefully.

"I–I'm really sorry, this is—this is so unprofessional and—" Simone tried to force a laugh through the tears, reaching for her purse.

Bucky grabbed hold of her wrist, making her stop in her tracks.

Her eyes slowly trailed up towards his face, finding him already staring at her.

His grip wasn't hard, but it was stern.

"Stop apologizing. You're upset. Something's happened" He spoke slowly, his eyes never leaving hers.

Simone couldn't hold herself back anymore. It was as if she was bursting at the seams, her emotions flooding through every crack in her armor.

She burst into tears. Real tears. Sobbing.

They looked like translucent pearls rolling down her cheeks.

Bucky suddenly found himself terrified. He never usually stuck around long enough for the crying part. This was new. He had absolutely no idea what to do.

Simone hid her face in her hands, sobbing violently. 

"...are—are you okay?" He managed, rubbing his hand on her shoulder as if he was petting a feral cat. Terrified to come close.

"Of course I'm not fucking okay!" Simone squealed from beneath the heap of sobs she had turned into.

Bucky got to his feet, trying to think quickly.