Words On My Skin

Chapter 11

"Your mother?" Bucky asked, confusion pulling his dark brows together. His hands were still on your hips, temperature difference leaving a shiver down your spine. "Your mother's here?"

"Oh, no." You groaned, shoulders sagging as you let your head fall back in frustration. This was not going to be good. "Why now?"

"You know, you don't have to let her in if you don't want to." He frowned, your anxiety starting to seep through the bond. "You could say no and schedule it another time."

You weren't ready for this. You weren't dressed, your hair was still damp from your shower, you had no makeup on, you hadn't slept properly in weeks... You were wearing Ugg Slippers, for fuckssake.

That was the first thing she was going to fucking critique.

Then, there was the small factor of not telling her that you'd met your soulmate. She obviously knew from the news, but you never actually told her. She was probably hurt by that, if she even had feelings, but you wanted this for yourself. You wanted to be with your soulmate for at least a little while before she came in and ruined everything.

Before she could ruin your relationship with Bucky...

"What's wrong, sweetheart." Bucky asked, hands pulling you close so your head was against his Under Armour shirt, wrapping his arms around you. "Even without the bond, I can feel your anxiety."

"I... I don't... She's here." You stuttered out, trying to take a deep breath. "I'm not ready. I'm not dressed. I'm not..." You inhaled slowly, repeating your mantra in your head for a moment, then exhaled – trying to exhale the negative energy and feelings. "I can't keep her waiting." You pulled away slightly, linking your hands together and trying to give Bucky a smile. "You don't have to come with if you don't want to. You're supposed to be debriefing with Steve and Fury."

"They can wait." He ran his thumbs over the tops of your hands, eyebrows still pulled together in concern. "This is more important."

"It's my mother, though." You sighed, looking to the side and watching the maintenance woman roll a tool box over to the jet Bucky had just came out of. Anything to avoid eye contact, right now. "It's not that important."

"I'm not leaving you when you have this much anxiety about your mother being here." He leaned forward, trying to get you to look at him. "I'm sure that it'll be fine."

You bit your lip, watching as his thumb moved and brushed over your wrist – a few centimeters from the start of your tattoo. It tingled, and a shiver shimmied its way down your spine. Releasing your lip before you broke the skin, you tried to force a smile. "Okay. We shouldn't keep her waiting." You continued to grip his vibranuim hand, though your fingers were chilled in the brisk weather. "FRIDAY? Please tell security to let my mother through the checkpoint."

"Right away, Ms. L/n." FRIDAY replied through the speaker in your watch. "They will meet you by the front entrance."

You slowly walk through the grass, heading towards the front entrance. You kept your pace slow, heart beginning to race the closer you got. You could hear your heartbeat, thundering against your chest all the way to your ears. Your hands and toes became cold, and you moved closer to Bucky – trying to leach some of his warmth, since he was practically a human heater.

You didn't realize he'd stopped walking, until you were jerked back by his unmoving arm and he was forced to hold you steady. "Bucky?"

"You're about to give me an anxiety attack... Which I can only assume that means your anxiety is awful, right now." He lifted a brow when you looked down in embarrassment. "Darlin' you need to take some breaths."