Better Love || A Bucky Barnes Fanfiction

- The Shadow In The Library -

"See the danger, Always danger."

He was singing along to the radio while his silver BMW i8 sped through the sleepy streets of Seattle. He had only brought it a few weeks earlier so he reveled in every experience of driving it (when he wasn't driving his Ferrari 458 Speciale, that is). It slipped through the roads like a dream and made him feel like a fucking God. He couldn't wait to shove it in Strange's face next time he saw him. 

Beside him he heard his fiancé groan, making him curl his lips in a crooked smile. Looking away from the darkness outside and towards the driver, Elena raised one eyebrow towards Thomas.

"It's a bit of a tired song to be starting our day to, isn't it?" Elena mused.

"I think the word you're looking for is soothing, my darling pet," Thomas replied with a smile, casting his blue eyes towards the younger blonde in the seat next to him before returning them to the road. "I understand that your work at the library is tedious so you'd probably prefer something a little more... pumped up, to bear the day ahead-"

"Cheeky-"

"-but I find the calmness helps counter the high-intensity of the surgery," Thomas finished, making Elena roll her eyes before she let out a little yawn. Her fiancee ran one hand through her blonde hair. "You've never been a morning person, honey."

"I didn't get much of a choice today," Elena said with a soft smile, taking Thomas' hand in hers. The day before the library had received a new shipment of books that had arrived three hours late. Because of this, Elena had only been able to put half of the new books into the system. She hoped that coming into work early would allow her to get them done in time for the next group of people to do their part, and also not throw her off her schedule for the rest of the day. With another yawn and a stretch, Elena looked at Thomas lovingly. "I don't know how you do it."  

"When you've been doing it as long as me, you get used to it," the older man replied with a shrug before continuing to sing along to his music, accelerating down the street. Elena grinned, putting her hand on top of his when he rested it on her thigh. 

Eventually they made it to the library and after kissing Thomas goodbye and watching him speed off towards his job at the hospital, Elena made her way inside. When closed, the library felt like a different, otherworldly place. She was so used to it being quite busy, the architecture and vast size of it inviting thousands of visitors from all over the world. The times Elena would come into the library when it was closed, she felt like the energy in the place was suspended, tense and waiting for something to drop. She didn't know if that was a good or bad thing to feel, but the dead silence made her feel different. It made her feel safe to be herself. 

"Morning, Miss Burroughs," Adam, one of the night security guards, said when he saw her.

"Hi, Adam. Quiet night?" She asked, heading towards the elevator. The man nodded, stretching in his chair.

"Always is, Miss. Always is."

Upstairs, the floor was dimly lit, the street lights shining through the large windows and lightly washing the area. It was darker among the shelves, but Elena knew the floor plan of the library like it was her own home. She walked down the different aisles, eventually reaching the help desk where the boxes of new books was currently sitting. As she unpacked the box, her mind thinking about the long task she had ahead of her and how early in the morning it was, a book slipped through her hands and onto the floor. Not thinking anything of it, she bent down to pick it up, only to notice something funny underneath her desk. There, lying in a crumpled heap, was material she hadn't seen before. Frowning, the young woman picked it up, the material rustling as she straightened and tried to see what it was in the dim light. It was a sleeping bag.