Torn {Bucky Barnes FanFic}

Chapter 18

"As of this morning, these are the two men we are looking for." Secretary Reid stood at a press conference, in front of a microphone.

Two photos were projected behind him. One of Steve and one of Bucky. I tried to scream. I wanted them all to know that whatever they thought my friends had done, they hadn't. But I couldn't. All I was able to do was watch, like it was a movie.

"Steve Rodgers and James Barnes are wanted for treason and attempted acts of terrorism," he continued. "They are both armed, unregistered, genetically modified humans, and should be considered extremely dangerous. If you hear or see anything that may be related to these men, call the hotline on the screen. Anyone found harboring these men will be treated as equal. A few questions."

"How will you obtain these superheroes?" A woman called.

"These men are not heroes. We have our own special task force." His answers were perfectly practiced. "It is headed by Mr. Tony Stark and his colleagues that are on the right side of the law. We are confident that with his help, we will bring these men to justice and end their unsupervised, reckless scheme. These boys and anyone working with them will get what's coming to them. No further comments."

***

I woke up with a loud cry, realizing it was a dream. I was sitting up in bed, my entire body shaking like a leaf. An intense pain throbbed throughout my skull, but went away quickly.

"Hey, hey, it's okay," Bucky murmured next to me and slowly sat up.

I drew my knees into my chest as my eyes stayed glued to a random spot across the room. Bucky furrowed his eyebrows and moved closer.

"Babe, what's wrong?"

I looked over at him, completely unsure of what to say. He put his arms around me and brought me onto his lap gently. I curled up into a ball and buried my face in his chest, Reid's words repeating in my head.

"Cara, what happened?" He asked again quietly.

I shook my head repeatedly and grabbed fistfuls of his shirt to try and comfort myself. "It was a dream. It was a dream. B-but, it was so real."

"Shh, it's over," he whispered into my hair. "You're okay."

No matter what I thought of, I couldn't stop shaking. I'd had nightmares my entire life, but nothing ever as real as this. I suddenly felt sick, and squeezed my eyes shut to try and make the feeling go away. Bucky kissed the top of my head and I took a shallow breath.

"I'm sorry," I muttered, moving away towards the other side of the bed. "I'm being stupid. It was just a dream, goddammit."

"No, you're not being stupid," he insisted. "Now get your ass back over here so we can cuddle and you'll feel better."

He tried to get through the sentence without smirking, but failed.
A small smile crossed my lips and I pulled the blankets closer to my chin.

"I like it when you get all soft on me," I said, moving back into his arms.

"I'm not soft."

His face hardened as he draped one arm over my shoulders and the other across my waist. He pressed his face into the side of mine so his nose was smashed against my cheek and I smiled over at him.

"Bucky Barnes is strong like bull," he growled.

I smirked and turned so our noses almost touched. "Soft like pillow."

"Strong. Like. Bull," he repeated.

"Hmm, whatever you say."

Bucky smiled and closed his eyes again. I moved even closer to him and hung onto him like a koala on a tree, which I had a habit of doing when he fell asleep before me. After several minutes, I was still awake. I lifted my hand slowly and poked his cheek.