Burning Heart - Bucky Barnes x Reader

Part 6

Hey there!

I really like this series... and that's a first... hahaha. Oh, and in this house, we believe in love at first sight. If you disagree, you may kindly keep it to yourself. Happy reading!

1,251 words

A quick jog – well sprint – back into the tent and you were already beginning to tremble and sweat. Your labored breathing was the only thing you heard as you locked yourself inside the exam room. With a quick glance down at the mangled skirt of your dress, you groaned inwardly and began rummaging through the cabinets. There had to be a spare outfit somewhere. One that wasn’t so… feminine.

Within a few short minutes, you found it. The spare outfit for a soldier who had ripped theirs or had nothing else to wear whilst theirs was being cleansed. You’d only hope it would -  somewhat - fit you.

You examined the contents and frowned. You had always wanted to wear something of this type, and now was your chance, but if someone – anyone – saw you, it would be bad... very, very bad. You traced a finger along the seam of the dark cargo pants and released a short, shaky breath. It was almost a pant.

A familiar voice broke the silence, startling you as you stood up with the outfit in your arms. It sounded through a door, but sounded, to some extent, worried. “(Y/N)?” His voice was delicate, and you desperately attempted to ignore the warm feeling in the pit of your stomach.

You knew your whisper wasn’t quite strong enough to respond, and you almost guaranteed he knew it too, because the pause only lasted for a few seconds.

“Are you alright? Uh… Knock on the table if you’re okay and I won’t come in.”

You smiled and your gaze drifted to the metal examination table. You took a small step and knocked on the table twice. You turned back towards the door where Bucky stood and watched his shadow move through the crack underneath the thin material.

“Okay. I’ll wait outside for you.” His footsteps echoed quietly as he left the tent and you sighed. Of course, you barely knew the man and you’d already fallen hopelessly in love with him. But that would wait until after you both figured out what to do. Or so you thought.

Swiftly throwing the newly found outfit on the table, you stripped out of your nurse uniform and pulled the thick cargo pants up your thighs. Thankfully, the waist was elastic and fit your form perfectly, with a lot of room left to stretch the elastic. You tied the belt loosely and moved onto the large V-neck shirt. It was slightly big, but workable and you threw the latched jacket across your shoulders. You found an elastic band in the utensils drawer and tied your hair back into a tight ponytail. When all else was completed, you pulled the socks onto your bare feet and slid your feet into the army combat boots.

You had calmed down immensely and were ready to face Bucky. You pushed past the exit of the tent and scanned the area, but Bucky wasn’t there. You took off in a random direction, searching for Bucky everywhere but you couldn’t find him. You wanted to scream your lungs out for him, but you couldn’t. He was gone.

3 weeks later

It had been pure agony ever since Bucky disappeared. Sure, it had only been a few weeks, but those many days were spent in the exam room, scared out of your wits because you didn’t know what you were supposed to do, or what was going to happen next.

It was silent in the camp, the crickets were still absent, and it was probably the scariest thing. The vibe that surrounded you twenty-four-seven was eerie and full of tension. There was always the feeling of someone watching you – monitoring you – and there was always the sneaking suspicion that someone was a few feet behind you.

In the few weeks away from Bucky, you had realized something. The connection you had with him was so strong, it often brought along the feeling of regret upon you. If you hadn’t ran away from him, whilst in a panic, none of this would’ve happened. He was fine for a few minutes, but you found yourself wondering what happened to him while you were changing.

He was probably already dead; his corpse in the hands of your capturers, waiting to be found by you so that they could take you and kill you too.

You hated yourself for being so afraid. You had always wanted to be a soldier, but this fear was getting in the way of your dream. This unnecessary fear was prevented you from getting out there and slaughtering the people—no, the monsters that took Bucky away from you. You missed him more than you’d missed anything or anyone else, and you always found yourself crying silently until you fell asleep.

You decided you would work harder than ever before to get him back, but you didn’t even know where to start. That is, until you saw the soft light seeping through one of the tents one night.

It was late, and you were finishing up your rounds of investigating the camp for anything and everything suspicious  before you turned in, when you saw it. Light. It was softly shining through the thin material of a tent a few feet away from you.

Your heart rate picked up as you carefully and very quietly stepped through the entryway and saw the silhouette of a man standing. You panicked for a mere second, thinking it was an enemy – maybe one of your capturers - but as soon as you turned the corner, you recognized the facial features and felt a huge wave of relief flow through you.

You felt tears streaming down your face, and everything seemed to go in slow motion as Bucky’s head lifted and his blue-gray eyes met yours. You picked up the pace in milliseconds, racing over to him before throwing your arms around his neck and burying your face in his neck, sobbing silent tears of joy.

His hands immediately landed on your hips, wrapping around your waist as he copied your movement, returning the affection. He pulled you closer and inhaled your familiar scent while rubbing your back to help calm you down. “It’s okay, Doll. I’m right here, Sugar. Right here.”

His voice sent shivers down your spine and you pulled him closer, absentmindedly pressing a tender kiss to the base of his neck.

“Bucky,” You whispered, and he hummed in response. You gently pulled away and gazed into his beautiful eyes. I… I love you. I’m… in love with you.” You felt heat rush to the apples of your cheeks as you confessed, and worry creeped into your veins when he didn’t respond right away. But as soon as the big, beautiful smile formed on his face, you found yourself gushing and copying his expression.

“I’m in love with you too, Doll.”

You flung your arms around his neck and crashed your lips onto his. He responded almost instantly, and your stomach filled with butterflies. But your moment was cut short when the familiar sound of explosions echoed throughout the camp. You pulled away and slowly turned around, standing in shock as you watched hundreds of men in dark uniforms barreling towards you with machine guns and what looked like syringes.

You were in a state of shock so extreme, your muscles refused to move. Until Bucky pulled you behind him, grabbing his machine gun and firing all of his rounds at the men. You were so screwed.