find me

38. the way

"Run."

Bucky sprinted first, Natalie following quickly behind him. Suddenly, he took her hand in his, yanking her towards him so that she slammed into his chest and pivoted quickly into an alleyway. He pushed her flush against the wall of a bricked building, hiding her deep in the shadows. The whole of their bodies were pressed against each other.

Natalie tried to shake him off of her but he only held her tighter. She felt trapped, even though Bucky's intention was to shield her, she wanted to keep running.

Why the hell would he stop when they were literally being chased?

She tried opening her mouth to argue but he unceremoniously pressed his hand over her lips silencing her. His eyes dark and menacing, ordering her to stop.

Natalie's head suddenly snapped to the side when she heard gunshots firing not so distant from them. She felt her heart stir as she saw some armed men approaching the alleyway.

Natalie hadn't even realized that they were being followed. It was the first time in a week she had been out of their small flat in Barcelona and Bucky had decided to go with her just to be safe.

They were halfway home when Bucky grabbed her hand, making her furrow her brows in confusion. He hadn't touched her in days. It sent her brain in a frenzy.

The only thing she could think about was how much of a damn shame it was that his hand felt so good around hers, since she was supposed to hate the man, for god's sake.

She definitely had not been paying enough attention to her surroundings.

Bucky, however, knew somehow they were being followed. And the moment his suspicions had been confirmed, without more than a single word, he had just started running, pulling her with him, dragging her by the sheer strength of him.

She understood then, when the men passed them and kept moving along the street, that if she had continued running they would've probably caught her. Killed her. She instinctively pressed herself tighter against him, who in response squeezed his arm around her waist, in reassurance.

She watched their shadows move on the pavement and shout between them in a language she didn't understand. The hand on her back, holding her to him, clenched into a fist, and she looked up at him to see if he was scared or frustrated. As usual though, his face was impassive, void of emotions, and if it hadn't been for that twitch of his hand, she wouldn't have noticed Bucky's very well hidden anger, lying far down beneath his eyes.

She realized in that moment, staring at him, that they hadn't been that close probably since that last night in Bucky's flat in New York. The thought left her feeling uneasy, especially because it didn't feel revolting to be pressed so close to his warm body again. Not even close to revolting actually. And she didn't like that. Not one bit.

As the men disappeared around the corner, she shoved Bucky off of her.

"You didn't need to hold me." She panted, tired both from the running and the hyperventilating in agitation. "I'm perfectly capable of hiding on my own."

"Really?" Bucky didn't look impressed, he ran a hand through his dark hair, staring down at her with narrowed eyes.

"Is that why you were shaking in my arms?" A humorless smirk only slightly tilting up the corner of his lips.

Natalie glared up at him, resisting the urge to punch him hard in that smug face.

"We could've died." She murmured quietly, justifying her fearful reaction, her bottom lip trembling slightly.