In the Dark

Arrival

As soon as they stepped off the plane and got their luggage, they got into their waiting car and headed off to the private beach house owned by none other than Sofia. Bucky stared in awe at the villa-style house when it came into sight. Sure, he had stayed in castles and The White House, but never something so close to the ocean. It did not compare to all of the trips to the Hamptons with President Sam Wilson and his family.

The car parked right out front the large steel gates, the four of them hopping out and looking up at the home they got to call theirs for a week. Bucky and Natasha helped with all the luggage while Peggy and Sofia went inside to make sure everything was okay. The air was humid and making everyone sticky as hell that by the time they had situated themselves in their rooms, they were a sweaty mess.

"Ugh," Natasha huffed as she walked over to the empty fridge. "There's no water! Sofia, what the hell?"

"There's a store down the road," Sofia waved her off. "We'll go and get some right now."

"But I don't want to walk," Natasha whined.

"Suck it up. Let's go."

Bucky stood up from the metal stool but Sofia dismissed him, telling him that she didn't need him to follow her. He fell back onto the seat, Peggy snorting over his shoulder as Natasha and Sofia walked out of the house.

"Did she... just..." He trailed off with the slam of the front door.

"Sure did," Peggy clicked her tongue. "Chances of anyone mobbing her or realizing it's her while she's out here are slim to none."

"But she said I was coming to work."

"She said that so you would agree to come."

Peggy quickly shut her mouth, Bucky's eyebrows furrowing in confusion. What did that even mean? Peggy patted his shoulder and walked away from him while Bucky's mind tried to wrap around her statement. He knew he was going to go crazy if he tried to figure it out so he went out to the back part of the house, meeting the beach a few feet away from the patio.

The sound of the waves was loud and clear and the sun bounced off the light-colored sand. It was a paradise if he knew it. Running a hand through his hair with a heavy sigh escaping past his lips Bucky began to walk across the sand bouncing from one foot to the other as he took his shoes off and throwing them back onto the wooden deck.

He made his way down to the shore, the clear blue water kissing his feet. His thoughts began to wash in and out of his head like the water in front of him. What was he doing? He should've known the first time he met Sofia that he would be in deep trouble. How could he not fall for her? She was beautiful, smart, funny and even if there were issues she dealt with, all he wanted to do was love her and hold her in his arms. He wanted to always protect her from harm.

Sofia and Natasha walked back to the house with gallons of water and some sweets and chips. Natasha put everything away while Sofia looked for Peggy and Bucky. She hoped to not find them in any sort of action. She believed that Peggy had taken a liking to Bucky the way she had. 

Peggy came out of one of the three bathrooms the home had and Sofia furrowed her brows, slyly looking over her friend's shoulder. But nothing could get past Peggy.

"Who are you looking for?" She asked, placing a hand on her hip.


"Uh, no one." Sofia blinked. "I just—"


"Bucky isn't with me."


"But he's not in the house either..."


Peggy shrugged. Sofia nodded silently before stalking off and finding the back sliding door open. She snuck out and slipped off her shoes on the porch, running down a couple of wooden steps and looking left to right. The beach was basically empty, except for a couple of people walking along the shore.