Flour Girl (Bucky x reader Bakery AU)

Part 15

Characters: reader, Bucky.

Summary: Discovering the cute guy you just flirted with is the heir of a rival bakery, you suddenly find yourself running into him all over the city. Can your small boutique bakery compete? And how do you deal with the guy who seems determined to make your life a living hell? Luckily you're distracted by a secret admirer...But who is he? (Inspired by "You've Got Mail", Enemies to Lovers)

Warnings: none! Mild swearing? Bit of angst. Whoops. :)

Word Count: 3.2k

A/N: It's here!! Finally, some answers. Whew! I think the previous cliffhanger wait will be worth it. I hope. ;) I can't wait to hear your thoughts! I always love to hear from you. Any feedback is appreciated. I love you all!!

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Previously:

Confused, you took a step forward and opened your mouth to speak before you looked down and saw the t-shirt he was wearing. The Rolling Stones. In that moment, it all came together in your head and the blood drained from your face.

"You?"

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All the pieces clicked into place as you thought back to the past few months, a sick feeling burrowing into your stomach. Your skin felt hot as you broke into a cold sweat, feeling too many eyes on you. It was a set-up. They were in on it, you were positive. It was all a ruse. A joke at your expense. Tears blurred your vision while your heart beat loudly in your ears, so much so that you almost missed his words.

"Hey, Y/N," he said with the slightest of smiles.

He had absolutely no right to look so damn handsome when you felt like the earth beneath you was crumbling, threatening to swallow you whole. From the stylishly scuffed boots on his feet, his long legs clad in a pair of black jeans, the iconic Rolling Stones t-shirt on his muscular torso, and all the way up to his lightly tousled chestnut locks: he looked perfect. He was B. He was a liar. And now everything was ruined.

"Bucky? You're...B?" you barely managed to whisper with a crack in your voice.

He nodded, letting out a resigned sigh. "But you can call me Bernard, if you want to," Bucky attempted to joke, but it fell flat, so he went on. "I know meeting here was unusual, but I wanted to do something special and my friend Natasha and her quartet go to Juilliard, they only had a small break between classes, so..."

The pressure in your head was increasing, making you light-headed as you began to sway. Your knees gave out as tunnel vision took over, feeling a pair of hands grip your arms. A scrape of metal on concrete and there was a chair for you to sit on. In the back of your mind, you realized it was probably a chair from one of the quartet members, but somehow the music continued on. "Eleanor Rigby" transitioned into "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" seamlessly; the students were obviously talented. Unfortunately, now those songs would be tied to this humiliating moment, forever tainted.

As you returned to yourself, you felt the warmth of a hand against your cheek and another resting on your knee. His hands. You jerked away and he released you, taking a step back. Blinking a few times, you inhaled a shuddering breath and tried to ground yourself.

Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out.

He was talking again.

"Y/N, I'm so sorry, I...I screwed it all up, I didn't mean to..." He began to pace, running a hand through his perfect hair. "Can you please just say something? Let me know you're okay? You're scaring me," Bucky uttered, crouching close to you, but not touching.