Pitter Patter || Bucky Barnes

chapter 4

You felt a something tight around your neck. Your eyes were blazing as they met his. You grabbed his arm with both your hands, and tried to pry yourself free. Who knew he was this strong with his flesh hand? You didn't want to see what his metal arm used to do.

"Please....stop," you tried to get any words out, in hope he would actually hear them.

His face softened and his grip released. Bucky's expression could only be said in one word.

Mortified.

You fell to the floor and grabbed at your neck. You were only able to keep your eyes on the floor, but his eyes never left you. You glanced up at him and you could see his eyes burn. You tried to stand up, but it felt like you couldn't breath. You tried once more, and in mid-collapse, you felt a cold feeling on your arm. Bucky was lifting you up and putting you back in your chair. He backed up from you, still mortified from what he had done. You hoped you hadn't frightened him too much.

"Sorry. Force of habit," he softly spoke.

You could immediately sense the sorrow in his tone. You looked up at him, noticing that this was the first time you've ever heard him speak. His voice was low and rugged, but smooth and soft at the same time. Your eyes met his and it felt like an eternity that he didn't look away.

"It's okay. I know you didn't mean it."

His face seemed to soften even more from hearing you say that. He broke your eye contact and stared in front of him. His long brown hair hung in front of his face, almost hiding him from you view. There was a long silence. You didn't expect anything more than that though.

"What's your name?" You chimed in.

He froze at hearing this. You knew his name of course, but you bet that not one person at HYDRA ever asked him that. You peered at him as his face turned back to you.

"Bucky."

You gave a small grin. In return, he unexpectedly gave you a small smirk back. It caught you off guard, but in a good way. He appreciated the fact that you showed interest in him.

"What's your name, doll?" he playfully smiled, looking away.

You blushed a little, but answered quickly as not to draw attention to the fact you noticed.

"(Y/N)," you stopped yourself from giggling too much. He seemed to enjoy the interaction.

"(Y/N)," he repeated, "I like that."

You felt your cheeks heat up a little more. You knew things were not going to go as planned, you thought the other would be a little different than this. But you couldn't complain. You didn't end up dying, but almost, and you were called a cute nickname. That's a win-win, to be honest.

Natasha came into the room as the middle man for Steve and Tony. Bucky flinched a little at the loud door, but he relaxed quickly.

"How's it going? Good?" Nat's calm voice said.

You almost died from the man sitting next to you, so she was a little late but-
"...Fine." You answered with a smile.

You looked over at Bucky. He caught himself looking at you and immediately turned back away. You didn't know if this was your natural instinct of connecting with people, but something was definitely there.

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(Bucky's POV)

My eyes jolted open. My reflexes got the best of me. Normally when I was awoken from a deep sleep like this, it was when I was waking up at HYDRA. My head hurt and my eyes were blinded by the white walls and white sheets.

What was going on? My arm was gripped onto someone by the throat. Wait, definitely not HYDRA. Wait, it's a girl. What was happening? She tried to speak but my grip was still too hard on her.
"Please....stop," her voice was weak and her eyes were locked onto mine. Her eyes spoke to me. This wasn't right.

I let her go and she dropped to the floor. I stared as she gasped for breath. What did I just do? She was running her hands over her neck. I saw marks from my hand imprinted on her skin. She was too busy to notice me staring at her.

She was beautiful.

How could I have hurt someone like this? She tried to stand up but failed. I could tell she was going to try to get up again, so I gently put my arm under hers and lifted her back into her chair.

She looked up at me with gorgeous (e/c) eyes that seemed to reach my soul. I feel like I had frightened her, so I backed up a bit. I felt terrible. I needed to explain myself well but the words just spilled out.

"Sorry. Force of habit," I said shyly.

I didn't think that through. That makes me sound like a murderous freak, who obviously chokes people on the daily. Well, for a while I was.

I looked back down at her face, and our eyes met once again. They were so intriguing.

"It's okay. I know you didn't mean it," she shrugged.

I froze, and looked away to the wall in front of me. How could she have been fine with me almost killing her? She kept looking at me, but I just couldn't look at her anymore. Not that I didn't want to, but I just didn't want to scare her any more than I already had.

My hair hung in my face, which I hated. No one ever cut my hair, and I never had a choice about it.

My heart jumped when she spoke, "What's your name?"

I didn't expect her to start speaking again. I especially did not expect her to ask me a question like that. Normally, I'd be woken up from sleep by a man speaking russian to me.

This was different.

"Bucky", I flashed a grin at her. She smiled back and my heart skipped another beat.

"What's your name, doll?"

My sudden nickname caught her off guard, but she giggled at the thought of it. Not the worst reaction to being called a nickname.

"(Y/N)", she answered gently.

What a beautiful name to match such a pretty face. I said it back to myself, "(Y/N). I like that."

She smiled a little, but a familiar woman with red hair walked in though the giant metal door.

"How's it going? Good?" the woman spoke.
If you consider getting choked to death good, then yes.

(Y/N) responded to her. I watched the way her lips moved when she talked, and I realized in that moment I could watch them all day long. She looked over at me with a big grin. I was so lost, I didn't even hear what she said before. I looked away trying not to draw too much attention. I hope I get to see her again.