Only a Memory | Bucky Barnes

Chapter 4: A Monster

The last thing Bucky expected to happen that morning was to be approached by Natasha Romanoff. She had this determined look her her eyes; her jaw was set and her shoulders high.

There was this sort of regal beauty about Natasha, Bucky though. Her red hair, straightened that day, appeared to be made out of fine silk. It fell like a curtain and whipped around her shoulders as she swiftly walked down the hall, creating her own breeze as she went.

She was the kind of person that you wouldn't approach if you had never spoken to them before, but rather who approached you. She was still far away from him, yet from the way that her gaze was directed at him Bucky knew that she was headed straight for him. She looked right through him as if she knew all of his secrets. Bucky wasn't sure whether to be scared of her or enthralled.

She stopped in front of him then, one hand resting lazily on her hip. She smiled at him in a way that suggested they were already friends.

"James," she said, her voice like smooth butter.

"Natasha," Bucky said, giving her a curious look.

"Please, Nat will do just fine." She peered over her shoulder where Clint was watching them. He was at his locker just a few feet away, desperately trying to discern what the pair were saying. Bucky had his back turned to him, and he was standing in just the right position to almost entirely block Natasha from his view.

"Call me Bucky," he said, tilting his head slightly to the right, allowing Clint to peer over and see Natasha's face. It was enough for him to read her lips.

"Of course." She reached out a hand to gently touch his arm. Bucky involuntarily shivered and stepped back.

"Natasha—Nat, sorry. What are you doing?" his tone was firm and demanding.

Natasha stepped closer. "I came to talk to you. About Steve."

Bucky made a high-pitched noise in surprise, a noise he didn't even realize he could make. He wasn't aware of Clint watching the pair, a look between betrayal and confusion. He wasn't aware of Alexander Pierce watching, either. Pierce's look was absolutely murderous.

"Steve? Why?" Bucky managed to get out.

"I want to know why you seem so interested in him." Natasha watched in amusement as Bucky looked at her, her fists clenching and unclenching, looking mortified.

"In-interested?" he sputtered.

"Yes. I see the way you look at him." She raised a brow, as if to challenge him.

In truth, Natasha hadn't really seen Bucky look at Steve in any particular way; she was only going off of a conversation she had overheard between Peggy and Sharon. Although, from the look on Bucky's face she had either uncovered a truth or Bucky truly was surprised by this speculation.

"Steve was my best friend." Bucky pointed out. "I'm just curious as to why he doesn't seem interested in being my friend again."

Natasha was keenly aware of Clint watching them, and Clint wasn't exactly being discreet about it, either. Whether or not Bucky had a crush on Steve, she didn't care. What she suspected didn't really matter at the moment. She was only concerned with having an excuse to strike up a conversation with him.

"You're sure that's all it is?" she cooed, internally cringing at her own sweetly, yet sickening flirtatious tone.

"Of course," Bucky said, shocked that she would even suggest it was anything else.

"Great." She stepped closer to him, so close, in fact, that she could feel his breath tickling her nose. "Then you won't mind if I do this."

Her soft hands cupped his cheeks, and Bucky felt this sensation of intense wrongness. While most guys in his grade would die for an opportunity like this, Bucky found himself wanting to escape and run away. Far, far away.