His Soulmate | Bucky Barnes ✔

Chapter Fourty Eight

"House number one." I looked out of the front window of the car, before looking to my side. Bucky had his eyes fixed on the crumbling building in front of us.

"Is it half built?" He asked, his eyes trying to hide the mix of laughter and horror at the mess of a house we'd parked in front of.

"It was finished ten years ago." I checked through the folder the estate agent gave us, and leant my head back on the car seat. "This is going to be a long day."

Bucky and I had decided to take the first steps to find a home for us, away from the Tower, and set up a series of visits with an estate agent. But it didn't bode well that the first house we were looking at was falling apart from the outside.

"Maybe it's better inside." Bucky suggested, as he unbuckled his seatbelt. "Come on doll, it can't be that bad."

He didn't know how wrong he was.

We met the estate agent, William, on the pavement outside the house, and his forced smile showed us all we needed to know. He swung the front door open, and let Bucky and I walk from room to room. My heart sank the further we walked, each room worse than the last.

"So the positive is that this house is well within your budget-" William said, stood to the side of the room.

"Is that damp?" I pointed to the dark patch that was spreading from the corner of the ceiling. "It looks like damp."

"That," William tried not to sigh, "that is damp. But patching that up shouldn't be a problem."

He marched out of the room, and waited by the bottom of the stairs for Bucky and I to walk up them. They creaked loudly with every step, and I clung to the handrail as I led the way. A thick smell of wet dog hit my nose, and I shoved my hand over my face to try and block the smell.

Bucky's nose wrinkled as he stood next to me, his hand slipping around my waist to tug me back into his side. "I don't think-"

"This is the master bedroom." The sound of the door falling from its hinges made me jump, and the three of us turned to look at the door now lying wedged in the doorway.

I stared up at Bucky, my eyes wide in horror as he looked around the room. His finger stroked the wall, only to come back with it covered in crumbling brick. He shook his head at me, then straightened up. "William we'd like to see the next house now."

He didn't wait for a reply as he grabbed my hand and tugged me back down the stairs. I skidded on a wet patch of floor I hadn't spotted before, caused by a dripping leak next to the flickering light.

The outside was welcoming, and we sped to the car. William fumbled with the key in the lock of the door as I climbed into the seat, watching Bucky wait for him to reach his own car.

I could see them talking, and Bucky's hand run through his hair. He trudged back to the car, sliding into the seat next to me with an odd look on his face. Meeting his gaze, he burst out laughing.

"It's not funny!" I slapped his shoulder. "That house was literally falling apart."

"I know it's not funny," Bucky wheezed through his laughter. "But it is! It's funny just how awful it really was. Did he really think we would buy it?"

I gave in, and sunk back into the seat. Our laughter filled the car, as Bucky flicked the key in the ignition, and pulled out of the street.

***

~Bucky's POV~

"House number two." I parked the car in the allocated spot in the parking area next to the apartment complex.