|2| Refrain • Bucky Barnes

Chapter 5

"You look beautiful tonight Мой луч солнца (my ray of sunshine)."  Bucky purred as butterflies bounced off the walls of both of their stomachs. A blush crept up her face and she hid behind a wall of her hair.
"You look very handsome too." Amelia said leaning slightly across the table and taking his right hand in her much smaller one as his metal hand hid under the table.

"Does it not bother you that I'm ninety-three years old. And even my biological age is twenty eight. Your only twenty," He asked, curiously  but also a little worried it might. "I would change the world to please you, but my age is the one thing I cannot change."
"Not at all," She said and shrugged slightly "in fact it's actually quite a good thing really. If you weren't ninety-three years old I never would have met you." I looked at him happily.

He nodded, taking in her response. She purses her lips and thinking how to reassure him that nothing would deter her for him.

"You know, you shouldn't doubt yourself like that. Just because your a few years older than me and stuff."
"Stuff?!" He exclaimed quietly.
"Fine quite a lot of stuff. But I still love you. Stuff and all."
"What about this ugly thing ?" He said, gesturing to his metal arm.

"It's not ugly it's just an arm," She laughed and so did he in spite of himself "and it's neither good nor bad nor ugly. It does the job."

There was a long pause as they looked at each other as if almost to take stock of what they were doing. They were one their first date. It was almost as if they were further down in their relationship than anyone their ages but were also behind.
"So what do you think of a modern date?"Amelia said at length.

He looked around the restaurant and as she waited for his conclusion a waitress came over and took their orders. She smiled at Bucky. But not in a friendly being polite way. No no no. In a flirty way. She was extremely pretty with shiny blonde hair and big blue eyes and a perfect complexion.

Amelia hated how perfect she was. With a passion. To be honest even she couldn't blame him if he was attracted to her, she was just that pretty. She hated how inadequate it made her feel.

Bucky smiled politely none the wiser and gave her his order. She looked over at Amelia, a distasteful look on her face, and so she narrowed her eyes, gave her order in smiled in a fake polite way and mumbled out a quiet:"Careful." As a warning.

She glared at her and carried on with her job. Bucky looked at her then at the back of the waitress as the whole situation flew over his head just like Sam.
"What was that about?" His brows furrowed.
"Nothing nothing." She reassured him and he smirked realising what happened.

"Good because I don't want anything to spoil our time together." Bucky said looking into her eyes.

A buzz woke her from her daydream. Bucky pulled his brand new phone out of his jacket pocket.
"Steve sent me a message he said Peter went home and," he said staring at the screen and smiling but then it dropped "we're going on a month long mission tomorrow."
"Me?" She asked.
"No, just me." He looked up as she pouted.

"We only just got together again." She whined while rolling her eyes.
"I know Melie but I have to." He replied and huffed and tried to give him a reassuring smile. He gave her a relieved look when her face softened. He couldn't stand to disappoint or upset her.

The new couple later walked out of the restaurant onto the cold streets of New York.  The wet pavement shone like silver so she pulled her coat around her body. Amelia linked her arm through Bucky's flesh one and they made their way down the street. They weren't even talking but they walked in a comfortable silence and she thought it was nice just being next to him.  He stopped briefly to look at the timetable of a movie theatre that was showing a movie they both might enjoy going to and she heard it.

"Hello Baby Bunting...The Masters gone a-hunting... He going to fetch a Bucky...to lure my Baby Bunting in..." The Master sang in her ear.

She was positive it was his voice. There was no mistaking that raspy whisper that she often heard in her dreams amongst the other ones. Amelia spun around on the spot but the whole area of the street around them was clear. He was nowhere to be seen.

"Where is..." She mumbled.
"What was that darlin'?" Bucky asked her. When she turned back to him a tear and rolled down her face and she was shaking uncontrollably.

"He's coming for me..." She whispered.
"Who's coming? The Master?" He questioned but by this point she was too lost in her own terror to notice, let alone respond.
"I've got to...I've got to go...I need to go...your not safe...I'm going to...no...he's going to kill me..." She felt anxiety seep into her common sense and ravage it. A panic attack took over her body.

Before she could remove herself from anywhere near Bucky he'd picked her up, hailed a taxi, put her down in it, strapped the seatbelt on, paid the driver and they were driving back toward the tower.

"No. Let me out. I have to..." She stuttered threw her outbursts as she held the cries in. Hot, salty tears seared down her red cheeks as Bucky held down her struggling hands and pulled her into a hug. She barely resisted because frankly Amelia didn't want to.

She wanted to be held by him and told she was safe and it was all going to be ok. And she would listen and believe it even though it wouldn't be true.

"I need to go." She whispered as her shaking subsided. He shook his head.
"You once said to me that I'm stuck with you. Well it seems your stuck with me." He insisted.
"But-"
"No buts. I love you. And I want to be near you. Whatever the cost." He stroked her curls she done specially for their date. She nuzzled into his jacket that smelt of him.

"I don't deserve this. I've done some very bad things. One day it's all going to catch up with me and you'll get dragged down with me."

Her cries died down so only the odd tear was left, and a few hiccups. She now loved and hated the way he looks at her, like she was innocent.

"You deserve so much more. More than I could ever give you. I couldn't care less about what you've done, you don't care about what I've done. You are Мой  луч солнца (my ray of sunshine) and always will be." He assured her although her bottom lip still quivered.

The taxi pulled to the side and they got out. Bucky pulled Amelia reluctantly into the familiar building and then into the familiar lift. His metal arm cooled her hot face. She could only imagine what state her makeup was in.

After Amelia showered and wiped the mess that used to be her makeup off her face she clamoured into her bed. Bucky stood awkwardly at the foot of the bed, not sure whether to be bold and go on next to her or wait. He thought if he lay next to her he might seem a bit too sure of himself or too presumptuous so he waited, shifting from foot to foot and staring intently at the floor boards.

Amelia smiled weakly and beckoned him on next to her. Bucky lay next to her and pulled to duvet over them both and lay his flesh arm out so she could use it as a pillow and he could draw her close to him. Bucky looked down at her and kissed her forehead with infinite gentleness. Warmth seemed to radiate from his lips met her skin and Bucky's cool metal fingers brushed some lose strands of hair out of her face and tucked them behind her ear. He really tried to be good but he felt lost. He really wanted to be able to help her but he had no clue what to do but what he was doing seemed to be working as her body relaxed for its tense state.
Crying had wiped her out and her eyes drooped closed.

"Goodnight my angel."
Was the last thing Amelia heard before she gave in to sleep.